


Requiem

by ElmoIsSatan



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Manipulation, Minor Character Death, Morally Ambiguous Character, Plot, Possessive Dream, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Protective Dream, Slow Burn, Violence, Zombie Hunters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 55,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26282527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElmoIsSatan/pseuds/ElmoIsSatan
Summary: None of them had been alive long enough to know any different. The darkness was infested with those things and all they could do was try to survive. Together.-DreamNotFound Apocalypse AU
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 511
Kudos: 1070





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requiem; a mass for the repose of the souls of the dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50K words! wow

George opened his eyes to an unsaturated world. It was his normal. He quirked his head to the side at his friend beside him in confusion. “Dream what are you—“ 

“Look behind you, dumbass.” George turned his head, ready to retort to Dream’s insult. The words remained on his tongue though as dark brown eyes were suddenly drawn to the vibrant blue body of water ahead of him. It stuck out like a beacon amongst the surroundings of dull grass and listless trees that made up George’s unique, bland coloured world. He stood staring at the ocean ahead of him like a doll, eyes blown wide at the sight, beautiful. Forgotten, Dream chuckled to himself. 

“You like it?” George was too awestruck to notice Dreams jokey tone.

“It’s so... Pretty” the shorter said, eyes still locked on the gorgeous view. Dream chuckled again at his friend’s shocked reaction, he wasn’t surprised though. Anyone would be shocked to see the sea for the first time in their life, he could only imagine how much more ethereal it would look if blue was the most vibrant colour one could experience like it was for George.

The view had captivated George leaving Dream to keep watch, they could never both afford to lose their guard after all. The blonde male tapped his shotgun that sat attached to his hip lazily with his right hand as he stood with his back to George, keeping his eyes on the tree line that bordered the horizon of inland. It was quiet with the exception of the occasional seagull that flew overhead or crash of waves that intermittently occurred on the cliffs behind him. 

Inwardly, the blonde smiled to himself at the undeniable success of his plan to show George the ocean, his heart secretively beating faster as he remembered his friend’s awestruck expression upon first seeing the view.

“Ok. I’m done staring.” George declared after a few more minutes, making Dream turn to him with a small smile that the former returned lopsidedly. 

“Right, let’s get going then?” 

“Yeah.” George replied, throwing one more look back at the great expanse of blue before turning to follow Dream towards the mass of trees inland. He played with the white clout sunglasses that sat upon his mess of brown hair, taking them off to clip them to his stained blue t-shirt before reaching back to pull his machete from his stuffed grey backpack. The weapon was coated in a thin layer of dried blood. “Dream?”

The aforementioned male paused to allow the other to catch up to his pace after replying. “Yeah?” 

“Do you think there’s anyone who lives along the coastline?” George asked almost with a hint of hesitance, already predicting the other’s reply.

The taller didn’t hesitate in his reply, always thinking of the practicalities. “Unlikely. It’s more exposed and volatile. Frankly it’d be a stupid place to live, think of how easily you’d be spotted by others.” 

George chuckled at his friends matter of fact tone. Of course the shorter had already known this— but it didn’t stop a little tiny part inside him from crumbling. It was another reminder of what kind of world they were born into. Even if they didn’t know any different, the pang of sadness wasn’t lessened any more. And Dream was right, as per usual. 

“If all this shit wasn’t going on I think I’d choose to live on the coast.” George thought aloud, bringing his hands up to fiddle with his glasses attached to his top mindlessly. Dream hummed in acknowledgement and continued on with his companion close behind. He would’ve done anything in the world to let George’s fantasy become a reality. Unfortunately for him there was a severe lack in things he could do. The pair were left to walk on in thought of where and who they’d be if ‘all this shit’ never ever happened.

—

By now they’d reached the unavoidable tree line, tall spruces towered above them like dark pillars. The machete remained in George’s hands but was now gripped far more tightly than before, his sight was more compromised than Dream’s in the dark due to his eyes, the problem heightened by the setting sun. 

The colours in the darkened forest were harder to distinguish for George and thus left him more vulnerable. As they went deeper into the natural darkness George’s brown eyes crinkled as he tried to make out the path ahead. As a precaution Dream kept a metre or so ahead of George as to use his less hindered sight to keep a keener eye out, leaving the shorter to trail behind him. George felt like he was going to be sick with anxiety, he would’ve felt helpless without the company of Dream to ground him in the overwhelming darkness he experienced.

They trudged quietly through the overgrowth and rotting leaf covered floor, not speaking a word to each other as to focus on their surroundings. ‘Nearly there, nearly there’ George chanted in his mind like a desperate mantra, trying to keep calm and carry on through the dark that always left his mind screaming danger. His mantra was soon to become true as he spotted over Dream’s shoulders the undulating hills where the dense forest ended, lighted up by the newly rising moon. In relief he slid his machete back into his backpack, ready to jog to catch up with Dream in front.

Momentarily distracted by the sight of his soon freedom from the darkness, George’s foot snagged on a concealed root. He fell unceremoniously on the muddy forest floor with a unrestrained ‘yelp’ of surprise that interrupted the near silence of the forest. Dream turned to George quickly, having slightly jumped from the unexpected noise. As he was about to scold George for his inability to remain quiet a sound stopped his mind in its’ tracks.

“George.” Dream whispered, prompting the older to look up warily at his friend who’s eyes were frozen wide in warning. 

Another noise. This time, louder. A sound only a creation of Satan could make.

“Get up,” he said in an commanding yet hushed tone. “Now.” George’s brown eyes were now too blown wide, adrenaline beginning to pump into his veins as his mind processed his situation.

With a shaky slowness George raised himself off the floor, pulling out his foot from the root carefully— as if one wrong move would cause his death. ‘In a way it could’ George’s mind supplied sarcastically as he got to his feet as carefully as he could. Until then the forest had remained quiet as it had been before his fall, lulling him into a false sense of security. But Dream wasn’t as gullible and, as George knew so well, Dream was always right.

The noise rose again, this time only shriller and more vividly distinguishable as a shriek. It tore through the fragile silence, kicking the males into their fight or flight response as they sprinted towards the moonlight ahead. The piercing cry stretched and grew in volume, scratching at their ears and spurring them onwards out of complete terror. 

On and on they ran, like a lion’s prey trying to avoid the nearly inevitable teeth of death. Feet pounding to the beat of a deadly drum’s rhythm, they sprinted. Dream’s face was stuck in that of quiet resilience, knowing that they were nearly there, it would be okay— just a bit more—

“DREAM!” 

Dream, alerted by George’s bloodcurdling scream, instantly turned to see the decomposing hands of those things tugging at George's left ankle, attempting to drag him back towards the even deeper depths of darkness. Their blackened claws scratched into the little exposed skin of George’s leg, writing messily in blood upon his skin as they dug in relentlessly. The boy tried to shake them off, alike how an antelope would try to loosen a lion’s jaw. It was futile, the claws only continued to rip at his pale skin, attempting to move up his leg. Scarlet red stained the bottom of his trousers. A crimson river flowed.

Verdant eyes were dilated at the sight. 

George. He had to keep George safe, no matter what. 

The unbearable howls of pain that George emitted became background noise to Dream as he moved to take action. Acting on auto pilot, raising his gun and firing three successive bullets. The noise rang in his ears, rendering him momentarily oblivious to all the sounds around him. 

In his moment of being stone deaf he grabbed George’s arm in a tight grip and tugged him forward, freeing him from the now severed bloodied claws that lay decomposing behind them, their owners creating symphonies of terror behind the pair of males as they ran. Their footsteps were heavy and laced with unheeded urgency, spurred on purely from the need to stay alive.

An eternity had passed before the pair had reached the moonlight lighted hills of the moors. They continued their sprint for a necessary few minutes or so before the brown haired male dropped his backpack and collapsed, unconscious, on the grass. Dream followed and slumped next to George, shuffling to move toward the leg that had fallen victim to the attack.

It looked like it had been mauled relentlessly, the green eyed male even spotting some white bone peeking through one of the more deeper rips of skin. His lower leg had been torn up like paper and heavily splattered in crimson. “George, you absolute idiot.” Dream said to himself, all this was because he tripped on a fucking root. 

Tan, worn hands promptly yet gently peeled back the torn trousers, exposing the rest of the damage. Whilst the cuts under his trousers were visibly less harsh than the lower ones, Dream was aware they would only worsen the pain George would already be feeling. Dream looked up to George’s unconscious face, framed perfectly amongst the unruly grass, like a tragic work of art. He smiled fondly. 

The white moonlight accentuated George’s pale skin and bony structure from lack of nourishment, making him appear sickly in contrast with the spilling red from his ankle, causing Dream’s heart to strain. If only they were safe together somewhere else, another place, another time. He shook his head. 

There was no point in wasting time on such dumb fantasies.

With practiced hands Dream went into concentration mode, aware that he needed to get through the cleaning of the wounds before George awoke. He wanted to assure the russet haired boy would be subjected to as little pain as possible.

He emptied what little water he had left in his flask onto the wounds, washing away the blood that had coated George’s skin to show each individual tear. Without stopping he wrapped the cleanest bandage he could find in his backpack around the wound on George’s skinny ankle. He tied it off with a small knot when he finished, assuring it wouldn’t come undone without strong resistance. He could do no more— they were without antiseptic and painkillers which would’ve been a godsend for George’s condition. 

They would have to make do, they had no choice.

Dream put away his now empty flask with a sigh of resignation, his brain having not yet fully comprehended their situation and how it would affect the pair onwards. He would wait till the morning light to find more water, it would do them both good to sleep for a while. Half heartedly the green eyed male looked around, checking for any suggestion of danger. He chuckled lightly at the sight of George’s dumb (in his opinion) clout glasses that the shorter kept with him at all times like another limb. They rested against George’s blue t-shirt, exposing George’s calm sleep as it moved up and down slightly with each breath the sleeping boy took. Without a thought, Dream unclipped them and placed them over George’s eyes causing him to roll his eyes at how stupid they looked. Nonetheless, he left them over George’s eyes, they did have the benefit of protecting one’s eyes from light. 

After conducting a final survey of the area with a weary glance and finding nothing suspicious, he allowed himself to resign to his body’s needs. He was too tired to fight the exhaustion any longer. Sleep beckoned him, his consciousness waning with every passing second. For now, he would rest to escape this world for a little while. Or at least till George woke up. 

Under the moonlight he lowered himself to lay next to George who appeared almost peaceful amongst the nature. His body being framed by the grass and weeds that thrived in the moors around them. 

Dream’s final thoughts as he looked tiredly up at the moon were of George and how, no matter what happened, the colourless moonlight was the one thing he knew they both saw the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! As a warning, this will be a zombie AU centred around George/ Dream’s relationship! I respect both content creators and they have both explicitly said they do not mind being shipped together. If they were to change this view/express being uncomfortable with this story I will remove this work.
> 
> Anyways..  
> Hi um I wrote this at 1am so yeah... It was going to be a oneshot but I do have big ideas for this story so depending on the reception I get I might continue! 
> 
> Please tell me if you spot any errors, as I said before, I wrote this at 1am when an idea struck! :)
> 
> scream at me on twitter: @GOGMEIST3R :)


	2. Chapter 2

Two years later.

“Dream!” The blonde male shot up like a rocket at the shout of his name, eyes wide and alert in shock. Blood pumped loudly in his ears as he searched his surroundings for danger, that was George’s voice. 

He calmed immediately when he noticed the brown haired boy standing in front of him, safe and unharmed. The shorter rolled his eyes at Dream’s stark reaction, throwing off the thin blanket the blonde had been submerged under and tugging at his arm to force him to get up. “What’s with that extreme reaction?” George questioned, eyebrow quirking up in concealed worry. Dream smiled at the shorter’s failed attempt at concealing his concern. 

He hesitated before providing an explanation. “Remember when we saw the ocean?” Brown eyes met green in understanding, with the former moving to sit beside Dream on the rickety steel bed, George’s tiny weight barely moving the bed frame.

“It was so pretty.” George said, choosing to not verbally acknowledge the rest of that day’s occurrences in favour of better thoughts. 

“Yeah, it was.” Dream stared at the other male who appeared to now be lost in thought, playing with his clout glasses that were clipped to his t-shirt, probably thinking back to the awe inducing view. Comfortable silence encased the two as they simply sat together, neither wanting to break the little, fragile world of peace they had created. 

Light sprung through the cracks of the rotting windows as the new days dawn awoke to greet the worlds inhabitants. Golden rays danced on the pair’s skin as vibrant green leaves rustled tranquilly outside. Summer was here and nature thrived in it’s unkept state. The floor of the room was wooden, and alike the windows, rotting from the leaky ceilings that provided a weak shelter from the sky above. It was more than enough though, especially due to the more sparse rainfall of the summer season. 

They had decidedly settled in what appeared to be a decaying rustic styled house, it was safer that staying in one which appeared to more liveable. It was a small sacrifice to make for what they would deem a comfortable sleep - anything was better than a night on the open ground outside.

“Georgieeee?” A voice called from outside - shattering the fragile peace they had momentarily held. “Where are youu?” the voice rang out again with a hint of playfulness in its tone. The brown eyed boy rolled his eyes at the voice and got up reluctantly, leaving Dream with a pang of sadness at their broken moment. “Sapnap- I swear to God!” George’s accented voice called back with fake anger as he turned out the door to go find the offending voice. 

Unable to see what was happening from his position on the bed, Dream heard a sharp scream from George which was followed by Sapnap’s heavy laughter, prompting the green eyed male to finally get up and check on his dumb friends. “Sapnap you idiot!” George cried offendedly, pushing weakly at the black haired male. Dream now watched with a small smile as the two in front bickered like children. George noticed the taller’s presence and turned to him, pointing a hand back at Sapnap accusingly. 

“He fuckin’ jump scared me!” The shortest male cried in annoyance, only serving to make Sapnap laugh even harder at his friend’s bratty reaction. 

“Yeah and you scream too loud, like a little kid!” Sapnap choked out, endlessly amused by the oldest’s reactions. Dream’s mouth quirked up into a bigger smile, mentally agreeing with Sapnap’s observation.

“I like when he screams-“ Dream said without thinking of its implications, causing Sapnap to laugh impossibly harder at the tallest’s expense and leaving George to go red and punch Sapnap on his arm with annoyance. “O-Okay that came out wrong, I think it’s FUNNY when George screams-“ Sapnap continued laughing at his friend’s excuse for the accidentally suggestive comment with Dream now blushing embarrassingly too at his stupid wording, scolding himself for being an idiot. 

—

Alot had changed in two years, the most obvious thing was the added member to the pair - Sapnap. They’d found him slumped asleep in a supermarket next to the empty shelves of what would’ve been the sweet aisle. Normally the pair would’ve avoided others but Sapnap had been alone and appeared to be around their age so they’d shaken him awake, weapons ready in hands. 

The previously sleeping boy had woken slowly, letting out a relaxed yawn. He looked up at George and Dream casually, like he hadn’t a care in the world that two strangers were pointing their weapons towards him. “Morning gentlemen!” He’d said, confusing the two at the stranger’s apparent relaxed nature. Sapnap had looked around lazily before his eyes met George’s left ankle, eyes going wide at the blood soaked bandages that were wrapped uselessly around the shortest’s leg. Sapnap decidedly reached back behind him causing the standing males to go rigid, ready to defend any offensive attack.

Rather than a weapon, Sapnap brought out what appeared to be a little zipped red bag with a barely distinguishable white cross on the front that had been worn away through heavy use. He opened the bag swiftly and offered out his hand that held stark white bandages to the oldest boy who lowered his weapon in surprise at the offering. “The name’s Sapnap” the sitting male said with a lopsided grin at George’s startled reaction. George’s eyes looked between the bandage in Sapnap’s hand and Dream who gave him a nod of affirmation. 

“I’m George, this is Dream.” Sapnap’s smile grew wide at George’s reply - yet again confusing the shortest male.

“You’re British!” Sapnap had mocked with a jokey tone, causing the British boy in question to scrunch his nose in annoyance. Dream smiled, he had grown a liking to this Sapnap guy already.

Apart from the addition of a member to the pair, their weapons of choice had also changed slightly. Two years had provided plenty of time to scavenge for new equipment. Now Dream opted for the use of a crossbow that’d been found by Sapnap in a hunter’s shed rather than his shotgun that remained attached to his hip. Bullets had continued to remain sparse in his travels whilst arrows could be made and often were reusable, depending on the situation. He also had gained a few smaller knives for more close rang situations which he had tucked into his belt snugly. 

While George also retained his machete he now also kept a bow on his back alongside a quiver. He’d found the black bow in the arms of a decomposing corpse that had walled itself into a room in the back of an old department store, leaving George to reap what it had left behind. Upon further inspection the weapon had appeared that of military grade, it’s design sleek and deadly in George’s hands. 

Finally, Sapnap had his katana. It was something he'd found in the back of a rusting car in the middle of nowhere. It was a strike of unfathomable luck for the male as all it needed was a bit of sharpening before it was back into its deadly working condition.

The trio were now thriving - while the world remained cold and unfeeling they had each other and Dream wouldn’t have changed that for the world.

—

They walked along the grassy plains as midday hit and the sun was at it’s highest. They’d left the abandoned village as quickly as they had arrived, wary that the calm that had been there was fragile and not likely to be longlasting. Sapnap pulled at his white bandana to tighten it and push his fluffy black hair off his forehead in annoyance as he chatted with Dream. They were pondering aloud possible locations that would provide food and shelter in the area. 

George hung slightly behind the two taller boys. With nothing to add to their conversation, he swung his bow absentmindedly as he walked, the heat feeling unbearable for the pale boy. “Dumb sun.” He muttered. He’d already lost today’s worth of patience as soon as Sapnap had decided to jumpscare him.

“Hey George,” Dream alerted the brown haired boy. “We were thinking of heading more North, what’d you think?”

George shrugged his shoulders in indifference, causing a frown to form on Dream’s face. “George?-“

“He’s just annoyed that I scared him earlier silly.” Sapnap piped up, causing George to throw a cold stare in his direction. Dream relaxed knowing there wasn’t anything truly wrong, deciding to slow down his pace to walk beside the shorter male while Sapnap continued on. “You good?” 

“Fed up.” Dream chuckled at his frank response.

“Aren’t we all.” George looked up at him and gave a loose smile which Dream promptly returned. 

Ahead Sapnap spotted their intended location; a farmhouse that stood next to a large barn. It was a bit too exposed for Dream’s liking but what was inside, he hoped, would be worth the risk. 

As they drew closer they pulled out their respective weapons with practised ease, ready for any possible dangers lying ahead. The barn was checked first, appearing to be clear of life to their relief. It was empty with the exception of dried straw that had been kept from decomposing due to the mostly intact roof. This had left only the house next door to be checked by the trio. 

Houses were the hardest to lockdown, the close quarter nature left them most vulnerable to surprise attacks that would most likely equate to death.

On the porch of the house Dream motioned silently with his fingers for the trio to split up, receiving a nod of understanding from the two shorter males. Carefully the white painted wooden door was opened, letting out the tiniest of noises after years of misuse. Upon entry George, being the lightest of the trio and thus least likely to make the floor creak, stalked upstairs. This left Sapnap and Dream to check the large bottom floor that included a surprisingly clean kitchen and overgrown sitting room littered with weeds. Nothing worth noting was found aside from some scraps of charcoal that lay unused in the fireplace’s pit. The bloodstained walls remained ignored. 

They hoped George would have more luck upstairs.

With his machete in hand, the colourblind male made his way room to room. He’d looked in two bedrooms to no avail, one a nursery and the other what appeared to be a guest room. Lightly he hummed in frustration to himself, he just wanted to find something useful. Turning the corner in the corridor he found the master bedroom, a messy double bed lay in its centre that was painted with dark black blood streaks. Ignoring the large bed, he looked to the closed door that led to what he guessed to be the ensuite.

Bingo.

With high expectations George swung the door open, jumping slightly when he saw the blood splattered mirror above the bathroom sink. He grimaced at the hand smears that slightly obscured his reflection. 

The crimson blood appeared to George as black, making the blood appear more stark against the yellowing white of the bathroom tiles. In hope, George pulled at the bloodstained mirror to reveal a hidden medicine cabinet. His hope was rewarded as he found a full pack of painkiller tablets, a near used up roll of medical tape and a dinosaur plaster that made him chuckle. 

Feeling accomplished, he slowly closed the cabinet to reveal his reflection on the smeared mirror. Brown eyes frowned at his bony cheeks and shirt which had seen better days. George ruffled his brown hair and left the ensuite, trying not to be discouraged at his pale complexion. 

Before leaving to show his friends what he’d found, the closet called to him from the far side of the bedroom. With the image of his ragged t-shirt fresh in his brain he opened one of the doors unceremoniously, revealing a near filled wardrobe. 

Brown eyes met with the most vibrant colour he could see- blue, spurring him to reach towards a deep blue hoodie that appeared nearly identical in colour to his own top. Upon pulling it off the rack he found on the centre of the front was a small white rectangle outlined in black with the word ‘supreme’ embroidered on the front. “Cool.” He said aloud to no one. He shrugged on the hoodie and smiled at the comfort it gave him, moving towards the mirror to see the fit. A halfhearted smile was thrown at the mirror as he noticed how the hoodie obscured his skinny structure. 

He dragged his hand through his russet locks, ruffling his hair and breathing deeply, closing his eyes in the process. Time to go.

George left the room and headed downstairs, satisfied with his findings and ready to flex to the other two idiots he called his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sapnap has arrived! WOOOOO
> 
> I wrote this chapter in like an hour and a half and edited it in the car so I hope there aren’t too many mistakes, hope you enjoy ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like an idiot I forgot to show that this was going to be a multi chapter fic - it should be changed now though. This is a slightly longer chapter so enjoy :)

“So what’s for dinner, my lord?” Sapnap said, mocking George’s accent, much to the latter’s annoyance. Ignoring Sapnap, George pulled out the collection of food they had collected on recent journeys from Dream’s bag. It included some pathetic looking carrots and leftovers from the cooked rabbit they’d had the other night. Hardly a feast fit for a ‘lord’. Dream sighed at the pitiful heap of scraps. 

The trio had decided to stay the night in the lofts of the barn rather than in the confined space of the house. For starters no one would think that someone would choose the rotting loft rather than the house which was right next door. Plus none of them really wanted to stay in a house with blood stains painted on walls like some kind of grotesque art gallery. The loft of the barn would do just fine. 

They now sat in a circle, cross legged and hungry staring at both their remaining food and George’s findings. 

“I say we skip tonights meal and try find something in the morning.” Dream proposed reluctantly, not even wanting to take up his own suggestion. The blonde knew their chances of finding ‘something’ in the morning were basically nonexistent but they had to find some motivation to ration somehow. In response he received a groan of sad agreement from the other two boys. 

Silence now enveloped them as Dream put away the food into the confines of his backpack. Sapnap then moved to pick up and stare at the dinosaur plaster George had found like it was the most interesting thing on the planet. Dream rather looked to George for entertainment. 

“I like your hoodie, George.” He commented, “it suits you.” 

"Don't lie to him Dream, it looks shit." Sapnap joked, receiving a playful smack from George as a result. 

George then looked up to Dream with a rare grin and a dusted blush of red upon his cheeks that made Dream internally scream. “Thanks- Oh yeah, is this black or red?” George questioned, pointing at the colour that appeared to him as black on the embroidered part of the hoodie.

“Red” Dream said. Sometimes he felt sorry for George, if the boy in question knew of his pity he’d probably hit him and say something like how he doesn’t know any different anyway.

George’s scavenged goods were now safely tucked away in his bag, with the exception of the dinosaur plaster, leaving George and Dream to share a look of boredom. They could talk to pass the time but none of them could be bothered. Exhaustion was taking over them from the tension of checking the house and barn as well as their severe lack of food. A sound caused the trio to turn in unison towards it’s source but the ‘coo’ of an owl alerted them it wasn’t anything to be afraid of.

Sapnap, now uninterested in the dinosaur plaster, placed it into the bag alongside their other stuff and turned to his friends. The moon was slightly obscured tonight, leaving all of the boys on edge as they didn’t have the luxury of moonlight to easily see the plains surrounding them.

“Sleep?” George and Sapnap nodded and moved towards a small pile of crisp hay in a corner of the loft. 

After reaching for his thin blanket Dream followed the pair and slid next to George with Sapnap on the other side of the smallest male. They’d been sleeping in this formation since Sapnap arrived, insisting he had used to do it when he was young to keep the warm in. At first George had resisted, but after he realised it would mean everyone would get the blanket, he gave in for the sake of logic. 

Sleep came easy as their thoughts washed away.

—

George groaned as he awoke, his back slightly stiff from the hard wood under him. Turning over, he opened his eyes. He was now faced up close to Dream causing his deep brown eyes to go wide. It was rare to be up close like this so George stayed silent as he watched over his friends sleeping face. Freckles dusted his tan skin and slightly wavy blonde hair sat messily atop his head. He looked handsome George noted with feigned indifference, Dream always looked handsome. 

George noted that dawn appeared to have not completely risen yet as they remained to be shrouded in a cover of weakening darkness as George stared. A light blush grew on his cheeks as he realised what he was doing. He looked down at his new hoodie’s strings and played with them, embarrassed. 

“George?” A hushed voice said, Dream’s sleepy green eyes were now looking down at George in confusion. Brown met green. 

“Go back to sleep, I just woke up for some reason.” George whispered, struggling to keep eye contact at this close of a vicinity. 

“Nah I’m not really tired,” he shrugged, “wanna watch the sunrise?”

After a moment of thought, George replied with a clipped tone; “sure.” Dream smiled and tugged at George to get up with him slowly, leaving Sapnap dead asleep with the blanket all to himself. George grabbed his clout glasses that he’d left beside his backpack before he had gone to sleep and followed Dream to the edge of the loft where a large crack in the wooden wall exposed the outside world. The brown haired boy pulled up his hood over his head as he felt the cold seep into his skin from the lack of sun. They dangled their legs over the side of the wall and sat in silence, there was only a hint of yellow peaking on the horizon.

After a few moments George offered Dream his clout glasses. “Try them on, they might suit you.” He said jokily. The taller of the two took the dumb glasses, turning away before placing them on his face tentatively. “Ready for the reveal?” Dream asked laughing quietly to himself, knowing he looked like an absolute idiot. 

“Go on then.” Dream turned dramatically in reply, receiving a mocking laugh from George.

“You look so dumb right now-“

“Come on now, you do realise you look this dumb when you wear them too?” George snatched back the glasses, pretending to be offended at Dream’s comment. The latter pulled at George’s hoodie strings in retaliation causing the hood to bunch over his face. 

“Dream!” George cried out, scrambling to loosen the hoodie, staring daggers at Dream when he got his head free of the fabric cucoon. “Shh you’ll wake Sapnap!” Dream said, only continuing to cackle at George’s exaggerated reaction. Brown eyes now moved to stare determinedly at the oncoming sunrise, decidedly ignoring his companion with a pout. “Georgeee,” Dream whined, “don’t be mad!”

“I’m not mad you idiot.” George retorted, obviously faking it yet still appearing grumpy. Dream sighed and scooted closer to the smaller. “C’mere.” George threw a quick glance at Dream and rolled his eyes, giving up his angry facade to lean his head on Dream’s shoulder, his heart feeling stuttering for some reason. By now the slither of light had emerged to reveal the sun and left Dream wide eyed - he would never get sick of that view. 

George’s eyes were stuck to the upcoming sun, to him it appeared as just yellow mixed with different shades of a more muddier and darker yellow. “I’m guessing it’s red today right?” 

“Yeah,” Dream replied softly, “you’re getting good at guessing the colours these days.” George mumbled a ‘I guess so’ in reply, hands absentmindedly fiddling with the glasses as he watched the view, head still leaning on his best friend’s shoulder.

—

When Sapnap had woke up it was long past dawn. You could always rely on the black haired boy to sleep late - regardless of what he slept on. They’d set off as soon as Sapnap had become aware of his surroundings, George and Dream having already decided their next direction of travel. 

“We’ll travel along the road, it’s only a few miles from here.” Dream explained to Sapnap as George tucked away the thin blanket. “If we keep following it hopefully there’ll be something of use-” 

“But isn’t it more dangerous?” Sapnap interjected, he knew Dream would’ve already thought of all the possibilities so it confused him as to why he would now advocate to travel along the road. The road would equate to a higher possibility of running into those things and other people - both just as dangerous as the other. 

“I don’t think we can keep going at this pace with so few supplies,” Sapnap nodded in agreement, “George agreed that we may as well try the more...” Dream grimaced before continuing, “high risk strategy before we run out altogether.”

“Okay.” Sapnap said slowly, George turned to him expectedly, waiting to gauge his reaction. “I’m down to try it but if anything goes wrong, and I mean anything... I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’ alright?” George rolled his eyes dramatically in response, turning back to his backpack. Dream smiled and helped pull Sapnap up from the floor. “The right is all yours.”

The trio made their way out of the barn, heading in the general direction of where they assumed the road would be. George and Dream listened in silence to Sapnap’s ramblings. “So I originally thought we should be called ‘Team Sapnap’ but it doesn’t sound that catchy.” George and Dream gave each other a look of solidarity as the chatty boy continued, “but then I had the award winning thought - wait for it - drum roll please Dream!” At the request Dream imitated poorly the fast paced beat of a drum. “The Dream Team!” 

“Wow so original.” George remarked sarcastically. Sapnap clapped the shorter’s back. 

“Oh come on Georgie, I know you love it really!” 

“Whatever you say Sapnappitus.” Dream looked back at Sapnap, laughing at the terrible nickname that caused Sapnap to pout. 

“It’s okay Sapnap, I love your idea,” Dream pronounced, smiling at his black haired friend’s cheeky smile that appeared in return. 

“Thanks Dream, I’m glad someone will at least appreciate my contribution!” George rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time for the past hour. Before he could jest at his friend’s antics he spotted a strong black line in the near distance.

“Wait guys- that’s the road right?” George’s observation peaked his companion’s interests, causing them to turn their attention back ahead of them. Dream spoke up to reply. “Yep! Nice spot George, looks to be about a mile or so away.”

—

By the time they’d reached the road it was midday again, the heat pounded on the trio as they walked on the pitch black concrete. George had stripped down to his stained t-shirt, the hoodie tied around his waist as the warmth became too unbearable for the pale boy. “Maybe you’ll get a nice tan!” Sapnap had commented, irking George. He had also begun to wear his clout glasses, they provided a fair amount of protection from the sun reflects after all. 

While the road was undeniably easier to walk on than the natural terrain, the trio felt the need to be double as cautious as usual, none feeling like they even had the luxury of talking as they listened out for their surroundings. The uncharacteristic sustained silence created an eerie feeling for the boys, minds wizzing on high alert as they kept up a strong pace. A light sweat had been worked up on all their foreheads, they had the collective feeling of vulnerability and danger as they moved steadily onwards.

For what felt like a few hours there was nothing, with the exception of a few tires and obscure car parts none of them could distinguish the name of. Morale was plummeting as the males ran on purely water, trying to make their rations last as long as possible due to the uncertainty of their situation. Their luck seemed nonexistent until George had spotted a blue sign in the distance, the bright colour sticking out crystal clear amongst the diluted colours of his surroundings. 

Upon closer inspection the sign gave directions for the road ahead, stating that New York City was 21 miles away and they were currently in New Jersey. Sapnap shook his fist at Dream. 

“Fuck! I could’ve sworn we were in Delaware!” Dream smiled, another bet he’d won. George laughed, Sapnap was learning the hard way that Dream always won.

“I guess we’re heading to New York City then?” George asked hesitantly. That cityscape was known to have been one of the most heavily populated areas before the world turned upside down, they’d always been told to avoid it if it was in their path. Everyone was aware that the more heavily populated the area was before shit turned real, the higher the chance of running into people and those things - a chance the males wanted to be as low as possible.

If the the boys had a larger group, the prospect of heading into New York City would’ve stood to be far less threatening as with numbers came power. Unfortunately for them, they were a trio - a Floridan, a Texan and a colourblind British boy.

They stood no chance against the larger, more affluent groups who were rumoured to have numbers reaching the hundreds in their camps. Regardless of the threat other people posed as, hoards of those things should’ve been enough to discourage any small group from travelling to a place like the city. On paper the ‘Dream Team’ had no chance.

Dream turned to Sapnap and George with a small smirk playing on his lips. George frowned, he hated that smirk. To the shortest boy that smirk only foreshadowed the announcement of a risky idea. As if travelling along the road wasn’t already dangerous enough. Sapnap shared a look with George before giving Dream their full attention. 

“I say we go.” 

“No.”

“Oh come on now Sapnap! Think of how much shit they’d have there- We’d be set for months!”

“Dude you’ve got to be kidding me right? I thought you were meant to be the logical one and this idea has no fucking logic in it at all!” George remained silent, noticing that the sun had begun it’s slow descent towards the Western horizon. 

“I know we usually stay on the sidelines but when has one of my ideas ever failed us?” Dream paused, ready for any retort and receiving none. “Exactly.” Sapnap flung his hands in the air with frustration.

“That doesn’t mean shit, you know we’d be royally screwed if we met anything in the city - human or not!” 

“Of course I realise that you idiot but what if we didn’t meet anything - go in and go out - reaping the rewards with no sacrifice.”

“Yeah ‘cos it’s just that easy, a quick in and out right?” Sapnap said sarcastically, standing with his arms crossed opposite Dream.

The green eyed male sighed, looking directly at Sapnap. His apparent tiredness etched away the tension from Sapnap’s frame at they both relaxed themselves. “Look, I know it sounds crazy fucking dumb but I think we could do it - in fact we can do it.” He paused before continuing, giving George a quick check for his reaction. “I just don’t want to see us struggling to survive any longer, and this, this could end that. We aren’t rats, we shouldn’t be content with scraps - I want us to be able to live, not just survive.” 

Dream ended his mini speech with a tiny smile and an almost guilty looking shrug of his shoulders. It was true. He was sick of seeing George’s bones become more prominent as the days passed, hearing Sapnap’s stomach rumbling, and the feeling of going for a day without even a bite to eat- as they had done today.

Silence swallowed the trio whole as they were left in the aftermath of Dream’s speech. George, feeling a gust of colder wind blow past, untied his hoodie from around his waist and pulled it on. He smiled contently to himself as he began to warm up. The sky was dimming as the day grew older, George noted that tonight’s moon would be less obscured than it had been the previous night - much to their luck. 

“I’m too tired for this shit.” Sapnap stated - it was a win for Dream as it wasn’t a definitive no, leaving the possibility for Sapnap to accept his proposal. 

“Right. Let’s find somewhere to stay, we should head a little off the road.” Dream said, content with giving up for the day to rest. 

“We could go behind that little hill over there?” George proposed, pointing just to the left of their position to a spot a hundred or so metres away. 

“Perfect.” 

And so the trio paraded wearily to the slight incline. Dream was aware of the especially poignant exhaustion that had settled over his friends, evident in their trudging pace and intermittent sighs of weariness. He thus took the executive decision to try uplift the mood before they slept. 

“How about we finish that rabbit from the other day?” He suggested, causing the shorter boys to perk up. Mission successful Dream told himself happily, settling down behind the hill with his friends to open his backpack and pass out the remaining scraps of rabbit meat. The meat would’ve gone bad if they’d left it another day, they reasoned in their minds.

The hill turned out to be perfect - they had both the advantage of height and secrecy as they were just low enough behind it to the point where, if necessary, they could duck down to avoid any people who were travelling along the road seeing their existence. As well as this if anything were to come up from the other side they would have the advantage of height - being able to see any threat before it even reached the bottom of the incline. 

Satisfied with their position - George, Dream and Sapnap settled down for the night. They used their backpacks as makeshift pillows and tucked themselves under their too thin blanket. It was good enough for their exhausted state, satisfied as their stomachs no longer growled for nourishment for once. After collectively saying goodnight they slipped into unconsciousness.

— 

Tires ran smoothly along the concrete road that stretched endlessly ahead. Headlights flashed against the blue sign causing it to appear almost neon amongst the near pitch black surroundings. Inside the car the driver sighed upon his sighting of the ‘21 miles’. He chuckled to himself as he looked into the centre mirror to check on the backseat where two younger males sat upright, somehow peacefully asleep.

“We’re nearly home boys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to google which states surrounded New York despite having visited both New Jersey and Delaware myself lol. I’m from the UK so I’m sorry if I get any facts wrong since this story is set in the USA. 
> 
> Also I changed the title from ‘we see the same’ to the current title, both suck in my opinion. See the current title as more of a placeholder for the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked super hard on this chapter, I hope there aren’t any mistakes ;-; 
> 
> This is the longest one yet, around 4.5k words I believe :) Enjoy!! hehe

It was another nearly full day of travelling North along the concrete expanse before they met their next meaningful road sign. By now their surroundings were devoid of the lush green landscape which housed the occasional lonesome structure into that of what used to be a bustling suburb. Litter lined the clogged gutters and weeds grew rampantly in the front gardens of the abandoned houses. Nature appeared to reign over mankind again - all it had taken was an apocalypse. 

Sapnap spotted a particularly colourful piece of litter and picked it up with curiosity. “Hm. Wonder what a KitKat was.” He said as he breifly studied the wrapping before throwing it back onto the floor with boredom.

“I never want to see another piece of concrete in my life.” George huffed, scuffing his shoes on the hard surface as he trailed along. Dream and Sapnap muttered a tired ‘ditto’ in response despite knowing that the closer they found themselves to the city the more of the dreaded dark material they would see. 

The road sign had provided some more hope to the trio as they read that they were only two miles away from the city’s outskirts. The sign was accompanied by the visible skyline in the distance beside the setting sun. The sight left the trio satisfied with their progress. “Nearly there boys!” Sapnap jested, smiling toothily at the view, pulling his hands to rest behind his head. “How about we stop for the night early as a reward?” He said, turning to George for solidarity, knowing Dream would be more likely to give in if George agreed with him.

“Wow Sapnap has a good idea for once.” George said sarcastically, Dream sighed and resigned to follow his friends towards one of the smaller houses that lined the street. 

The smaller the house the easier to secure it would be, the trio would be holed up in one room together anyway regardless of the house size. Checking the house was a efficient and uneventful affair. Unsurprisingly it had been thoroughly looted. The house was composed of a respectable open plan sitting room that was connected to the kitchen, everything covered in a thick layer of dust that made the boys scrunch their tickled noses. The stairs creaked as they moved up the incline, Dream taking the lead with the knife in his hand poised. 

Alike the rooms downstairs there was nothing notable in the bedrooms, leaving George and Sapnap to collapse unceremoniously on the stained mattress of what would’ve been the quaint master bedroom. The unused bed frame creaked under their shared weight. Dream remained by the door, watching his friends with a fond smile.

“I could sleep for a thousand years.” Sapnap muttered under his breath, hands covering his eyes as he lay with his back on the mattress. 

“That sounds nice.” Dream replied, closing the bedroom door and moving towards his two friends on the mattress. He slid his knife into his belt swiftly before collapsing beside Sapnap and staring up at the creamy discoloured ceiling.

George’s hands played with his clout glasses carelessly on his stomach. Alike Dream and Sapnap, he was also staring up. “Two miles to go, should get into the inner city by noon tomorrow.” George commented. Dream hummed in agreement. Yesterday they had eaten the last of their scraps of food, leaving the trio with a silent wish to find a banquet in the city tomorrow before the pang of hunger would fully hit.

For a few minutes they lay in comfortable silence, all three of the young adults caught in their mind’s bubble, too physically exhausted to move after the strenuous pace they had managed to maintain till then. Dream broke the peaceful quiet. 

“We should probably plan in case of the worst,” George and Sapnap remained still. “If anything happens to me-“

“Shut up Dream,” Sapnap cut the tallest boy off sharply, turning onto his side to face him. “You really think we’re just going to leave you behind?” 

“Well, no, but-“

“Dream. Come on bro, do you honestly believe me and George would’ve lasted this long without you?” The black haired boy said earnestly.

“Of course - you managed fine before on your own.”

Sapnap sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly till he saw stars. “Yeah but that was before, you two stopped me from going crazy.” 

“What if I get bit? What fucking happens then?” Dream’s tone is slightly strained as his eyes meets Sapnap’s.

“Look I don’t care what happens, even if you’re bit we won’t leave you...” Sapnap paused before continuing. “No member of the Dream Team left behind - no matter what happens.” Sapnap sung optimistically, lightening the night’s atmosphere. He gave Dream a cheeky grin to which the latter replied with an eye roll.

“You’re really trying to make that name work huh.” George piped up from behind Sapnap, having previously remained silent to listen to the taller boys conversation.

“Yeah totally!” Dream laughed at Sapnap’s reply and the usual banter commenced between Dream and Sapnap till outside was pitch black, only the moonlight was left to filter through the cheap, flimsy looking blinds. George had now fallen asleep, his body curled into a ball on the mattress, hugging himself with his precious clout glasses lying next to him. 

Dream and Sapnap smiled at the sight once they noticed the sleeping boy. Dream signalled for Sapnap to be quiet with a finger over his lips as the awake pair moved a bookshelf from the corner of the room to in front of the door. Once the room was as secured as they could manage they moved back to the mattress. Blanket in hand they moved either side of the smallest boy and covered themselves with the blanket. They whispered a barely audible ‘goodnight’ to one another before the boys were all unconscious in an uncharacteristically peaceful sleep.

—

They were on the road again. In both reluctance to arrive in the highly volatile city and tiredness from their journeying, they walked at a slower pace than usual. Grey skies set a cold atmosphere of misery, the sunlight obscured by blank clouds. Their surroundings gradually morphed from suburban rows of houses into skyscrapers, standing eerily and abandoned like glass columns of ruination. The occasional car lay haphazardly abandoned in the road, each one was checked by the trio as they hoped for the same luck as from a year or so ago when they’d found Sapnap’s katana. So far they had no such luck, each car had been completely looted, including the car’s radio and even sometimes the seats.

Dream walked first, with the shorter boys close behind with weapons in hand. The only sound was the hushed footsteps they made as their feet met the concrete pavement that outlined the blocks of buildings. So far nothing eventful had occurred to their relief, leading to their thoughts to become optimistic despite the gloomy surrounding landscape.

“Maybe the city isn’t as dangerous as we thought!” Sapnap chuckled quietly to the pair. Dream was reluctant to agree so threw back an unsure look to the black haired male. 

“Should we try go inside?” George whispered, not wanting to break the fragile quietness of the city. He motioned to a near by medium sized skyscraper that appeared to be a coffee shop on the ground floor. Dream and Sapnap paused their movements to look to the abandoned shop and nodded to George.

Swiftly the three boys moved to the front of the building, ducking into a smashed window that left just enough room for George and Sapnap to get through with little issue. Dream however, managed to snag his shoulder on the glass. 

“Fuck!” Dream cursed aloud without thinking. 

Sapnap and George turned suddenly back to Dream, weapons raised. They relaxed when they realised he had only ripped a small hole in his t-shirt and not harmed himself. 

“Jeez Dream, you’re meant to be the careful one here!” Sapnap joked in a hushed voice, not wanting to cause too much more noise. Dream frowned at him after inspecting the rip in his top. Onwards the males went into the building, wooden chairs and tables toppled around them. George hopped up and slid over the top of the counter and searched under the countertop while Dream and Sapnap looked more generally around the old coffee shop. 

George frowned as he watched a spider crawl along the dark brown wooden floor a few metres away from him, he hated spiders. Once the bug had moved from his sight he continued his search, finding nothing useful unsurprisingly. The building had obviously been looted thoroughly but they maintained some expectation after hearing of the city’s plentiful supplies. 

Sapnap ran his finger along an upturned table’s leg, a very thin layer of dust building up on his skin. “Someone must’ve been here recently.” He observed mindlessly, “not much dust around.” He continued to walk around after wiping his finger on his trousers to rid it of dust.

“Find anything George?” Dream said.

“Nada. I’m gonna check the backrooms.” 

“Right. Sapnap you watch the front, I’ll go with George.” Sapnap whined in response but stood guard nonetheless.

Creakily George pushed back the flimsy wooden door that led deeper into the building, Dream following behind. Without the large windows that the front of the shop had the back rooms were significantly darker causing them to squint as their eyes adjusted.

With the addition of the the darkness it was creepily silent aside from the pair’s breathing, they were on edge from their lack of sight and reluctant to move further into the room.

“This is pointless-“ George muttered before being hushed harshly by Dream. George was about to turn and frown at the other boy but he heard a rustle. Frozen, their minds raced. The darkness revealed nothing as their eyes had not yet adjusted, leaving their minds to think the worst and their blood to turn icy cold.

Neither of them had moved. There was someone or something there. In the best scenario it would be an animal - they prayed it was just an animal.

It wasn’t.

Like a floodgate being opened suddenly an ungodly cry exploded from the darkened corners of the room. Dream and George cried out in surprise, turning and immediately sprinting back through the door and alerting Sapnap of the danger. 

“Sapnap let’s fucking go! Now.” Dream shouted, no longer bothering to stay as quiet as possible. They just needed to get out. 

Heavy crashes followed the trio as they hurriedly weaved around the toppled furniture. The cries continued, becoming deafening and making adrenaline rush into their veins. Who knew how many of them there were, the noise had probably alerted anyone and anything within a mile radius anyway. For the moment they just needed to get into an open space - they could deal with them easier outside. 

George was the first to jump through the smashed hole of glass with Sapnap close behind. Dream brought up the rear but found his trouser leg ensnared in a sharp point of the transparent material. Yelling out in a mix of frustration, anger and fear he tugged on the trouser material like an animal caught in a trap. Blood began to blossom around where the material had been caught as Dream moved with recklessly sharp movements. With crazed, wide eyes he saw those things come towards him, getting closer and closer each second.

They were the colour of charred skin and smelt of decay - like something directly out of hell trying to drag the living back with it. Some had eyes, some didn’t. Those with eyes never blinked, only stared at their prey with white bloodshot orbs that stood out stark amongst inky, crimson, blood covered skin. The things were the epitome of monsters from a traumatic nightmare. They justified people’s belief in the existence of Hades.

“Dream!” George cried, only now noticing his companion’s dire situation. Alongside Sapnap, George raced back towards Dream.

“FUCK. JUST GO.” George froze, not from Dream’s shout but from spotting what was behind the blonde boy. There were so many. 

Sapnap thankfully wasn’t as fazed and used his boot to smash through the glass. It shattered with little resistance and clattered to the floor, releasing Dream from it’s hold. “GO.” Sapnap shouted as he pulled Dream by his arm forwards. “GO GEORGE.” George shook his head and bolted after the blonde and black haired boys who were now further ahead. The cries continued to call from behind, they dared not to look back.

George noticed Dream’s limp from behind but the blonde seemed to keep up with Sapnap’s sprint without showing any visible pain. By now they were racing through the streets, uncaring of the noise they made. It was pointless to go slow and keep their noise down when an orchestra of demonic noises followed them. ‘All they had to do was get far away enough and find somewhere they wouldn’t be able to reach-‘

George’s thoughts were cut off as they rounded a corner of a skyscraper. 

“FUCK.”

There were more. So many more. All the noise had alerted them, they moved like a corrupt tidal wave, racing towards the trio. 

“GO BACK,” Sapnap shouted, voice sounding raspy and frantic as he lead them back around the corner. The group of things from the coffee shop were noticeably slower than the group from round the corner, leaving just enough time for them to continue running through the main street. Sapnap was chanting a mantra of ‘fuck this shit!’ under his breath while Dream clutched his crossbow with both hands, holding onto it like his life depended on it. 

Dream was getting slower the longer they ran, something the two boys noticed and slowed down for. Blood dripped around the blonde’s ankle and his teeth were clenched, trying his hardest not to show his weakness to the outside world. Those things wouldn’t stop chasing after them just because he cut his leg afterall - even if it hurt like a bitch.

Nonetheless their feet continued to pound rhythmically on the tarmac, groans and cries continuing to bellow from behind. ‘How the fuck are we going to get through this one?’ Dream thought, his pain tolerance decreasing alongside his speed with every step. Adrenaline was also dwindling and hopelessness began to build in their minds, they had probably alerted everyone and everything for miles by now, how could they survive this.

“George- we’ve got to help Dream,” Sapnap said, ignoring Dream’s sound of displeasure, his voice hard. “Look, I’ll carry him on my back- you- you run ahead and find a building that we can barricade.” George nodded and picked up his pace, moving past Sapnap.

Dream latched his crossbow onto his back, allowing Sapnap to hoist him up onto his shoulders. At first Sapnap struggled with the taller boy’s position on his back but after some manoeuvring, managed to start moving again, quick enough to retain a good amount of distance between him and those things that were chasing them. One thing the boy could be grateful for was that they were not as fast as the living.

A reasonable distance up ahead, George came across a less decrepit looking entrance to a skyscraper. The glass was boarded up from the inside with chipboard and so the interior was hidden from sight unlike the other buildings in the vicinity. It appeared to be some kind of fancy jewellery shop, or what was left of it anyway. A large, light blue sign hung wonkily, displaying the name ‘Tiffany & Co’ above the boy’s head. In the moment, it looked perfect to George, anyone or anything chasing them would have to go inside blindly to see the building’s contents. Thus it would give the trio an advantage as anything chasing them would have to filter through the entrance. However, what George didn’t account for was that he too would have to go into the building blindly, unaware of what predators lay inside.

He moved to open the door. That’s when it went wrong.

— 

“Sapnap you don’t have to carry me!” 

“Dude we’re in a life or death situation and you’re getting mad at me trying to keep you alive?” Sapnap shot back, tone tinged with anger. Dream remained silent. 

The blonde looked back and saw the mass of things around ten or so metres behind, Sapnap somehow had managed to upkeep a quick pace despite the heavy weight on his back. After this was over he needed to do something really nice for Sapnap - serve him some gourmet level food or something. 

“Look out for where George went.” Sapnap huffed out from below. Dream did as asked and looked around, eyes scanning for the smallest boy’s location.

Instead he spotted someone else. 

A stone building lay up ahead, what looked to be an old museum. The building’s architecture was gorgeous, decorated with pillars of white stone and detailing that was fit for a palace. Unlike the surrounding scenery it was void of overgrown plants or vines, kept in pristine condition somehow. It defiantly stood out amongst the soaring skyscrapers of glass like a fort of eminence and prestige. And there, on one of the front balconys, stood it’s king. 

Dream was too surprised to notify Sapnap of the other human’s presence above them, he moved one hand from Sapnap’s shoulders to reach for his shotgun in warning to the watching man. The aforementioned man was watching casually like an eagle. An eagle waiting for it’s food to be hand delivered on a platter. Dream was too absorbed in looking up at the menacing stranger to notice a familiar voice cry out in terror, the wicked wails from those things behind already drowning out most of the sound.

“George?” Sapnap called, head swivelling towards the direction of his friend’s cry. It was a block ahead, not too far. Sapnap continued moving but this time with renewed vigour, his mind no longer on those things behind but rather George’s safety. 

Dream now turned his attention back to Sapnap, oblivious as to why the latter had picked up his pace. The blonde felt cold eyes stare at the back of his head, and it wasn’t from the eyes of one of those things.

“Sapnap what’s wrong-“

Another cry sounded ahead. George.

Dream’s heart strained in worry, even more painfully than his injury. “Sapnap, let me down! Now.” Dream stumbled slightly when his feet hit the ground, his wounded ankle unused to carrying his weight. His pain was momentarily ignored as they finally reached where George must’ve entered the boarded up building. They barged into the semi open door.

George stood there, machete in hand with the unmoving corpses of four of those things lying at his feet. Blood was splattered on his hoodie, even the clout glasses atop his head were smeared with the scarlet liquid. Brown eyes were open wide but glassy, staring straight ahead. His empty right hand was dangling limp at his side, a steady drip of blood flowing along his fingers onto the grey tiled floor.

Dream was fleetingly awestruck by how menacingly picturesque George looked. Like an angel of death.

“George?” A shot of what sounded like a gun rang out from outside, they flinched in surprise. After recovering Dream asked again, hoping for the boy to reply, ignoring the outside world in favour of his dear companion. “George you okay?” He recieved no reply, the brown haired boy did however turn his eyes to stare at Dream. It felt like those eyes bore into his soul, they held a desperate, forlorn glint in them. The blonde wanted nothing more than to engulf him in a hug but something stopped him, something was wrong. 

“Georgie? Come on, speak.” Sapnap said, moving forward a step. In reaction the shortest took a step back. More gunshots rang out outside - they were ignored.

“You need to leave.” He said in a dejected voice. Sapnap and Dream threw each other a worried look. 

“Um George, what about you-“ 

A particularly loud bang rang and deafened their ears for a few seconds, they were left with a dull ring as background noise. Unable to ignore the thunderous noises any longer, Dream turned back out the door to check who and what was there. 

He was there. 

The man from the balcony stood alongside a taller curly haired male with glasses who’s face was covered in a cocky smirk. ‘Balcony man’, the name Dream had dubbed him in his mind, held casually a machine gun in both hands. The weapon appeared sleek and glossy with the black metal in pristine condition. Dream spotted on the taller, curly haired male the handle of a baseball bat peeking out from behind his shoulders as he too held a mint condition machine gun in his hands confidently. “Good afternoon!” The latter of the pair said with a jolly tone.

Dream was now standing on the pavement with Sapnap beside him, taking in the sight before them. The road divided them from the strangers.

The mass of those things that had been chasing them were now caresses splattered on the ink black road in front. A large puddle of blood soaked the inert things body’s. There was alot of blood. It appeared to have been a onesided massacre.

“Hello?” Sapnap said, unsure of what to do or say. They had never been put in this kind of situation before, facing what could be either their cause of death or a friend. Hopefully the latter.

“Hello!” The curly haired male replied, adjusting his circular glasses with his hand and causing a small smear of blood to be left on his cheek in the process. He looked like some kind of psycho compared to the man who stood poised beside him with a poker face. 

“Who’re you?” George said curtly. Sapnap and Dream turned quickly to the brown haired boy who now stood out in the dull street beside them. The amount of blood covering him became even more apparent under the light of the grey sky. His right hand remained dangling at his side and appeared especially bloody they noticed in silent worry. 

The man from the balcony seemed to also notice George’s hand as his eyes broke his stoic expression to widen in what could only be interpreted as reserved surprise. “I’m Wilbur.” Wilbur replied from beside the male from the balcony. “This is Techno.” Wilbur motioned with a dramatic hand gesture to his restrained companion. Techno nodded in greeting, finally taking his eyes off of George’s right hand.

Sapnap spoke next, his words were left unheard by Dream who only continued to stare at George’s right hand. It’s condition was obscured slightly from the crimson liquid that poured over it but with a closer look it appeared to be-

“You’ve been bit.” Techno piped up, cutting off Sapnap’s reply with veiled interest. His voice unsurprisingly matched his persona of sternness. George looked up to Techno, not offering a verbal confirmation or denial of his claim. But he did however nod. Dream’s thoughts were stopped in their tracks as one question instantaneously consumed his brain; Why did George nod?

Dream looked up to George’s face with disbelief. What, how, why - his mind racing frantically.

“George?” Sapnap said, his voice was quiet, strained and confused. The black haired boy just wanted confirmation from the shortest boy before he believed anything. He couldn’t be bit, he just couldn’t.

George remained standing in silence, eyes unfeeling as he analysed the concrete pavement that was gradually being stained crimson. Blood continued to gush down his hand like a small waterfall - he was obviously losing alot of blood. A puddle had begun to form around him, the bleeding just wouldn’t stop.

Stillness encompassed them, no one sure what to do or say. Dream was in a state of pained realisation while Sapnap held onto defiant disbelief.

George felt the weakening of his mind as his wound gushed and he became lightheaded. He swayed slightly despite there being no wind to push him. Internally he was numb, alike his friends, he had not yet come to terms with the complete crashing reality of the situation. 

“Well, if you’d like, you can come with us. We can put you out of your misery.” Techno spoke out steadily.

Everyone remained silent. This allowed for them to hear the distant but growing echoes of those things. Alerted by the gunshots, they had made their way towards them, probably only a few minutes of time left before they caught up to them. It paid the trio a deadly reminder of their grim situation.

George looked up to Dream and Sapnap, his face now hinting pain and distress - something only his friends could decipher. ‘Why hadn’t they said anything?’ The brown eyed boy thought, pain thrumming in not only his hand but his chest. ‘Why hadn’t they said no to Techno for him? They were just going to leave him to die alone?’ What happened to the idea of the fucking Dream Team?’

Unknowing of George’s internal torment at their silence, Sapnap and Dream could only stare at George. Mind racing a million miles per hour, Dream tried to think of some way out of this mess, mind coming up unbearably blank. Sapnap meanwhile held clenched fists as he struggled to even comprehend that George had even been bit. 

Those thing’s shrieks were getting louder, closer. 

“I guess it’s decided then.” Techno said, nodding to Wilbur. The ‘Dream Team’ all looked up at Techno and Wilbur in confusion as to what they were doing and what that nod meant.

“Tommy.” Techno uttered and a split second later the world went dark for George.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d really love to hear of some of your reactions to this chapter, things really go to shit for the boys huh. I rewrote parts of this chapter around 2 times because I didn’t know if I’d managed to create a frantic enough tone, I hope I achieved it in the end :)
> 
> Comments are GREATLY appreciated <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! After the last chapters shitshow, enjoy this!

“GEORGE!” Dream roared savagely, running towards the collapsed boy before being stopped in his tracks by Sapnap’s hand tugging him harshly back. The blonde looked back to Sapnap in unkept anger to which the latter replied by motioning his head to the strangers who now held their weapons to point directly at them.

A tiny pool of blood had begun to leak from George’s head from where he had been hit brutally from behind and fallen to the grey concrete floor. 

Dream could only watch with his horrified green eyes wide as Wilbur walked towards George’s body, keeping his gun trained on Dream and Sapnap. 

The cries of those monstrous things were left ignored.

Techno remained standing silently in his position across the road, nonchalantly looking on as Tommy (the boy who looked practically like a child who had come out of seemingly no where to strike George into unconsciousness) helped Wilbur pull the colourblind boy into the brown, curly haired male’s arms. 

Like a rag doll, George’s limbs hung lifelessly in Wilbur’s arms, his hand still bleeding relentlessly. “George...?” Dream choked pathetically as he tried to break Sapnap’s hold on him. Tears pricked in the corners of his eyes as he was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness. He always had a plan, but this time he had nothing. Why did today, of all days, have to be the exception?

The blonde continued to try break free of Sapnap’s hold, his hand frantically and clumsily trying to grasp the handle of one of the knives in his belt.

“Dream stop. They’ll shoot us.” Sapnap whispered, voice obviously distraught as the last word caused his voice to crack with emotion. By now Wilbur had returned to Techno’s side along side Tommy with the unconscious boy in his arms. Tommy held Wilbur’s machine gun, the crowbar used to knock out George was secured into his small red backpack that hung on one shoulder. The young blonde kid gave Dream a mischievous smile to which the taller blonde responded with something that resembled the snarl of a wildcat.

“I suggest you leave.” Techno’s stony voice stated, Dream was seemingly oblivious to the words as he was still having to be restrained tightly by Sapnap. If it wasn’t for Dream’s injured leg Sapnap would’ve been unable to hold back the raging blonde for much longer. Luckily for him, Dream’s body was tired - something that was frustrating Dream to no end as his mind was spiralling in outrage.

“I’m going to kill you.” Dream began with a wrathful tone, “YOU BASTARDS!” 

“Dream! Let’s fucking go.” Sapnap yanked Dream back despite the latter using all his strength to try charge at the trio across the road.

The echoes of those things were growing louder with each passing second, Sapnap’s fight or flight kicking in to give him enough energy to tug Dream back around the nearest corner, out of sight from the deadly strangers. As Sapnap pulled Dream further away from the street where they’d last seen George, the blonde fought back with weakening vigour, mind and body exhausted and pained. Sapnap held his hand over Dream’s mouth, muffling any cries of anger from the taller male. The shorter of the two remained still and silent until he heard the retreating footsteps of the three strangers, allowing himself to release his emotions fully.

“Dream please!” Sapnap choked, his eyes beginning to tear up in distress, finally taking away his hand from covering Dream’s mouth. At Sapnap’s unusual display of anguish Dream stopped struggling and collapsed on the stone cold floor, Sapnap mirroring his actions seconds later. 

By now the distinct howls of those creatures seemed to have followed the direction of where the strangers had run off to, a noise rumbled in the distance, the sound vaguely reminding Sapnap of a car or truck. Luckily the louder rumbling had granted Dream and Sapnap with a moment of peace. 

“Dream-“ Sapnap tried, reaching for his friend pitifully. Dream looked up from his lap to Sapnap with an empty look, almost void of emotion. 

“We need to get him back.”

“But he’s bit.“ Sapnap said without thinking. He felt guilt pour out of him as soon as he uttered the words, leaving a taste of poison on his tongue. He immediately wanted to take back his words. He hoped Dream knew he didn’t mean what he said.

“I don’t give a fuck.” Dream snapped, “and neither should you.” Sapnap flinched. “We can’t just let him die alone, let alone at the hands of those fuckers.” 

The black haired male nodded slowly, not processing the situation fully enough to comprehend Dream’s proposal. He moved to rest his back against the red brick wall that lined either side of the alley way, shivering when he felt a ghostly cold breeze blow through the concrete pathway. 

Dream meanwhile sat staring at the plains of his worn palms, like he was analysing a map that implicitly held the answers to life. The blonde’s brain overflowed with hatred and spite, his heart straining as if it was covered in splinters from George’s apparent absence. 

The forbidding city’s reputation had been proven on their first day - to an extent neither of the pair could’ve predicted. 

“God fucking dammit George!” Sapnap muttered to himself, voice almost cracking with aggrieved humour as his head hung down onto his pulled up knees. Being humorous wasn’t unusual for Sapnap, especially in stressful situations where he would try lighten heavy moods. However the last time he’d used it as a coping mechanism for his own sadness was when he’d watched his dad die he realised with bitterness. Left alone in the monstrous world, dark humour had been his safety blanket. But when he’d found George and Dream that blanket had been freely discarded, left in a dark corner where he had hoped to never see it again.

—

Mindlessly the pair had settled in the front room of the most non-descript building they could find, not wanting to face anyone or anything for the foreseeable future. Surprisingly the building had yielded two cans of peaches. They tucked into one ravenously, internally deciding to keep the second can for George as a welcome back present.

Busying themselves with menial tasks, they kept their minds constantly moving. Carefully they unpacked and repacked their bags, arranging the contents into different positions. Despite their pathetic attempts to distract themselves, George’s condition and whereabouts played on the back of their minds like a broken record player. 

They did all they could to put off going to sleep but their mental, emotional and physical exhaustion was all consuming as the sun met the horizon and gloom engulfed the world. It would be the first night in years for the pair to sleep without their smallest companion. The rigid and chilly flooring went unnoticed by their thought ridden minds. Unconsciously the pair had left a space between them for where George would’ve laid under the too thin blanket. Neither acknowledged or moved closer to fill the gap as they settled to go to sleep silently.

“Sapnap.” Dream whispered like a child, voice sounding vulnerable in amongst the darkness.

“Yeah?” 

“George will be fine.” While his tone suggested he was stating the obvious, insecurity was hinted by his pace, spitting out the sentence like the slower he said it or pondered upon it the less truth the words would hold. Sapnap was thrown off kilter by Dream’s hidden apprehension, severely unacquainted with Dream being unsure of himself. The green eyed male would always be the unequivocal one, leading the pack with his infallible instincts and proficient knowledge. For the blonde to be acting irresolute felt wrong, a stark change of nature. It felt like the universe had turned upside down and inside out, a change that left the pair feeling exposed.

Sapnap paused before replying, assuring his voice was as level as he could muster. “Yeah, he will be.” 

Stillness enveloped the pair as they lay in doubtful silence, neither able to admit aloud that there was in fact a very high possibility they would never see their companion again. The reality of the situation seeped into their minds like acid, burning away any hope they had tried to rally.

Dream suddenly ceased their spiralling minds by blurting out hurriedly to the darkness. “I need to tell you something.” 

“Shoot.”

“I liked- I like George.” Dream’s confession came out clumsily, his usually confident self now cowering at the immense meaning of his words. Sapnap sighed, his friend had probably been trying hiding this from him for a long time. The black haired boy couldn’t even bother to feign surprise.

“How fucking dumb do you think I am?” Dream’s eyes went wide in the darkness at Sapnap’s question, not expecting such a reply. “I’m not oblivious Dream.” 

“I know I just thought I should tell it to someone, in case of the worst you know?” 

Sapnap winced internally at the implications of Dream’s words, he prayed to God that colourblind idiot was alive. They both did. 

“Night Dream, I love you.”

“Goodnight Sapnap, I love you too.”

For the last time stillness overtook the dear friends, eyes becoming droopy under the weight of the days traumatic occurrences. Tomorrow, they could hope, would bring better luck for them as their last thoughts were of plans to find George and return him to where he belonged - with them. All they needed was hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter but an important one nonetheless! 
> 
> This was basically dedicated to the reaction of Dream and Sapnap purely, I wanted to make sure I gave enough focus to their pain hah
> 
> Thank you for the comments on last chapter, you’re all so kind ^-^ Comments are my biggest motivator an they’re greatly appreciated <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big stuff happens this chapter >:)
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hi.” Dream shot up suddenly, his eyes holding a manic look as he reached for his shotgun that lay a metre or so away. His hand was immediately stopped by the tough rubber of a military boot that weighed heavily on his outstretched arm. 

“Woah woah woah, no need to get ahead of ourselves!” another voice said cockily, it belonged to the same person who was currently holding his hand painfully hostage under the sole of a boot. Dream looked up from his trapped hand to the offending voices, a frown etched on his face.

There, in front of him, stood two males who looked to be of relatively the same height. They both held matching scuffed rifles in their hands, obviously ready to act if Dream put up any fight. One of the strangers, the one with the black fluffy looking hair, was the owner of the shoe currently digging into Dream’s skin. 

“Skeppy!” One piped up, he had a disapproving look aimed towards who Dream assumed was Skeppy. In reaction Skeppy only pushed his boot harder into Dream’s skin. The male fixed his glasses before continuing to scold his companion; “Come on! This is not how you make friends!” Skeppy rolled his eyes at the boy with the glasses and reluctantly removed his boot, leaving Dream to retract his hand from its outstretched position into his lap. Dream noticed Sapnap had somehow remained soundly asleep throughout this whole ordeal.

“I’m sorry for this,” the boy with brown hair and glasses said. Dream turned his attention quickly back from Sapnap to look at the talking male. “I’m Bad, this...” He rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed, “this is Skeppy.” 

Dream nodded. He kept his shotgun in the side of his vision, prepared to reach out for the weapon again. “And what do you want?” 

Skeppy smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Not even gonna tell us your name?” 

“Dream.” The blonde said in a clipped tone, he disliked giving his name out but in this case it seemed necessary. Plus Dream reckoned if Sapnap was awake they would be able to take the strange pair in front out, if only the sleeping boy woke the fuck up.

“Right, Dream, we’ve never seen you round before?” Bad started before visibly remembering something and digging a hand into his back pocket, moving his rifle to be slung onto his shoulder. Dream’s eyes went wide when he saw the glass wearing male pull out very familiar white goggles. George. “Happen to know who owns these?”

“Where did you find them?” Dream said, tone hard, making the question sound more like a statement. Bad appeared confused as to the blonde’s reaction. “Just out on the side of the road why-“

A rustle from beside Dream stopped Bad mid sentence. “Dream?” Sapnap said, getting up hesitantly to sit in a cross legged position, looking between a seemingly relaxed Dream and the strangers before him.

Dream shot Sapnap a reassuring smile, letting out a short sigh. “Relax Sapnap, they’re good.” Sapnap remained hesitant, secretly so did Dream - both traumatised with yesterdays events still fresh in their minds. Sapnap scooted to sit next to Dream in front of the new pair, eyes shining in recognition as he spotted the clout goggles in Bad’s hand. 

“This is Bad, Skeppy.” Dream said to Sapnap, motioning with a hand to the respective boys. Sapnap gave a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “So as you were saying, Bad, you just found them on the pavement?”

“Yeah, they were next to a small pool of half dried blood not too far from here actually.” Bad explained. Sapnap and Dream exchanged hardly noticeable frowns as they realised the glasses had probably just been dropped by George when he’d been knocked out. The goggles weren’t going to be a clue to help find the colourblind boy.

“So why do you care?” Skeppy interjected, cutting off Bad who had been on a tangent about the exact position the glasses had been found in. Dream internally was flooded with relief that they weren’t asking about the blood found next to the seemingly discarded goggles.

“They were a friends, we lost him and were hoping it would help us find him.” Dream said with casual sadness. Bad smiled pitifully. Skeppy just scowled, obviously not convinced. 

“Well maybe we can help you-“

“Fuck no.”

“Skeppy language you muffin!” Sapnap let out a small giggle at Bad’s use of ‘muffin’. They were an odd pair, Dream wondered how they’d survived in the city. “Anyway, ignore him,” Bad said. He outstretched his hand that held the glasses in them, offering them to Dream. “We will gladly help you find your friend!” Skeppy clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Thank you, Bad.” Dream reached out and took the white glasses from Bad’s hold with a smile which the other returned in tenfold. The blonde believed he could trust this guy, he seemed to hold some kind of innocence despite the world he lived in. Dream hung the white goggles on his shirt like George did whenever he found wearing them atop his head troublesome. Dream smiled at the thought. 

Sapnap’s stomach rumbled. “Oop.” He said awkwardly, rubbing his stomach as if it would lessen his hunger. Dream rolled his eyes and stood up, leaving Sapnap sat alone on the rigid floor. He noticed he was a few inches taller than the new pair and smiled at his height advantage. 

“Well then, let’s go!” Bad said, much to the confusion of Dream and Sapnap.

“Go where?” The black haired boy with the white bandana countered from his position on the floor, his legs still tucked under the fragile warmth of the thin blanket. 

“To our place silly. Skeppy lead the way.” Skeppy began to head out the door onto the sunlit street.

Now it was Dream’s turn to ask questions. “What do you mean your place?” 

Skeppy paused his movements, halfway out the doorway. “We have a compound, dumbasses.” 

“Skeppy language!” Bad berated, Dream looked down to Sapnap and exchanged yet another look but this time it was one of perplexity.

“Dream give me a hand up.” With a little groan of effort Sapnap was hoisted up swiftly. “Let us pack first. We’ll be less than a minute.” Dream said, his interest had been undeniably peaked by the pair. 

—

George groaned awake. 

His head hurt. His hand especially hurt. His whole body felt at least an ounce of hurt. 

Slowly the colourblind boy fluttered his eyes slightly open, reluctant to face the outside world in his state of constant pain. Grogginess made him vulnerable to his surroundings as he failed to question why he was lying on the floor of a dimly lit cell. 

Vaguely he registered the shout of a male voice calling to someone. “He’s awake!” George was confused about why him being awake was so important. He was also puzzled as to where Dream and Sapnap were, they usually slept beside him. Weird. 

Noncommittally George mentally shrugged, letting his body relax as he faded back into unconsciousness. 

— 

“So what was your friends name?” Bad said curiously to Dream. The blonde and the boy with glasses were walking slightly ahead of Skeppy and Sapnap who were currently engaged in admiring Sapnap’s pride and joy - his katana.

“George.” Dream uttered, there was no harm in telling them George’s name, he was ninety nine percent certain the new pair weren’t connected to the trio who had taken George. 

Bad nodded, mind mulling over the name as they walked even deeper into the city. Bad seemed to lead the four of them through hidden back ways, avoiding the main streets, hinting to Dream that the new pair had been inhabitants of the city for a considerable amount of time. The sun was out in full force today, beating down upon the inhabitants of Earth with nearly unbearable heat. “I’ve had it wayyyy hotter than this, this heat has nothing on Texas.” Dream heard Sapnap brag to an uncaring Skeppy who only scoffed in reply. 

Reflections from glass shone angelically on tarmac, perhaps some sign from above that there was hope for them Dream joked to himself. “So Bad, how’d you end up in the city?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” The shorter said with a grin. “I’ve been here with Skeppy for donkey’s years, we found some likeminded people and set up base. You?” 

“Arrived yesterday.” Bad let out a little sound of surprise at Dream’s words, momentarily pausing mid step in shock. “Yesterday!” Bad exclaimed, “why would you choose to come here? You know how dangerous it is?”

Dream shrugged, hiding his internal upset. A large part of Dream felt personally responsible for George’s situation, he was the one who convinced them of the city’s ‘greatness’. He discarded that negative train of thought to reply. “We heard there were more supplies-“

“Those are rumours. Honestly you made a mistake coming here - especially in a group of three.” Dream looked behind to see the hard face of Skeppy as he piped up to call Sapnap and Dream out on their supposed foolishness. Bad nodded in agreement. 

“Skeppy’s right, the people here aren’t to be underestimated. Thank god we found you before someone else did. If I were you, I would consider yourselves lucky!” 

Sapnap and Dream cringed at Bad’s words, if George was simply missing like they’d told the pair perhaps they would allow themselves the privilege of calling themselves ‘lucky’. However, unbeknownst to the long time city dwellers, it was more than George just being missing. He was bit after all. Maybe even dead by now. They needed to find him - but where could they even start?

Dream attempted to distract himself from his train of thought by playing with George’s goggles still attached to his shirt, his mind nearly spiralling in its turmoil. “I guess so,” the blonde muttered in a distant voice.

—

After another half an hour or so of walking, Bad and Skeppy finally signalled the blonde and black haired boy that they had arrived much to their confusion. They stood in a plain alleyway, appearing to be nothing special compared to all the other back paths they had travelled through to reach this destination. On the floor of the alley was what looked like a hatch that would lead down into the cellar of a building. 

The hatch’s doors were grey steel and locked with a simple padlock that required a five digit number code to unlock. After moving his rifle to hang on his shoulder, Skeppy moved forward to insert the code, using his body to intentionally block the code from Sapnap and Dream’s view. The latter didn’t blame Skeppy for his reluctance to share the combination with them. They still, after all, had a chance of becoming enemies. Dream would’ve taken the same precautions, perhaps even to a higher extent to protect his friends.

Skeppy finally opened the hatch doors unceremoniously, the steel squeaking from the movement. “Welcome to our humble abode, well more of a compound.” Dream and Sapnap followed Bad down the cellar stairs with Skeppy bringing up the rear and closing the hatch behind them. 

The blonde would be lying if he said he wasn’t anxious, he didn’t know what to expect from their ‘compound’ - would they be welcome? Sapnap evidently felt the same discomfort as Dream watched, from the corner of his eye, the former adjust his bandana in nervousness as they descended down the poorly lit staircase. If he looked closely enough he could also make out the black haired boy’s hands shaking as they tightened the fabric in his hair. 

Eventually the staircase ended, opening up into a white cement corridor that had several tunnels on either side of the walls. Industrial looking lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the corridor with an orange glow as Bad continued to lead them straight down the passageway. “These tunnels all lead to different entrances,” Bad explained. “Some go for miles and can lead to opposite ends of the city.” Dream noticed little signs beside each of the tunnel entrances. ‘Rockefeller centre, 5th avenue, central park’ Dream read in his head from the signs, noting how the areas the signs said the tunnels led to sounded vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had read them on a map of New York City. 

“So where’s the compound then?” Sapnap questioned, the eery tunnels putting him on edge as their footsteps echoed throughout the passage. 

“There.” Bad said, pointing ahead. Dream moved his attention from the signs and tunnels towards the direction of Bad’s finger. There, at the end of the 100 or so metre long passageway, stood a foreboding door. It stood out starkly against the surrounding white concrete, made from what appeared to be dark grey iron. The metal of the door was worn yet sturdy, definitely human proof. 

Bad took notice of Dream and Sapnap’s awed expressions, smiling to Skeppy who looked unbothered. “We have cameras as well that give us a live feed of the outside passageway and tunnels.” He boasted.

“Electricity? Impressive.” Dream said. He was genuinely impressed - the blonde hadn’t used electricity since he was a child. 

“Cool.” Sapnap agreed, voice sounding innocent with wonder.

Bad moved closer to the door, knocking three times and pulling back. After a few moments the door let out a grating noise as supposedly locks were opened behind the metal mass. With an unoiled creak the door swang open, revealing something neither of the boys expected to see.

There were so many people - over one hundred certainly - just walking around like some kind of underground society. Sapnap and Dream barely made it a metre into the huge room before having to stop to take it all in. “Thanks Eret.” Bad said to the guy who opened the door, the male in question was wearing dark sunglasses over his eyes despite being underground Dream noted. 

Bustling and busy, the room was a mess of conversations. They’d never seen so many people in one place. It was surreal. 

Essentially it was a huge underground room lined with grey cement with the odd steel pillar for structural integrity. The white light of the wall lamps blinded the new pair slightly as they contrasted starkly with the weak orange glow of the passageway behind the now shut iron door. 

“Skeppy go organise a meeting in the hall.” Skeppy followed Bad’s command, walking away from the trio with a muffled complaint. 

“I wish George could see this.” Dream said to Sapnap, his voice being engulfed by the sea of sound around them. Sapnap simply nodded in reply, awestruck.

“Once we find him we can bring him here!” Bad supplied, tone optimistic and cheerful. Sapnap and Dream stayed quiet in hesitance at Bad’s suggestion. Slowly the room was being drained of people as they gradually filtered through one of the few doorways in the back of the large room.

“This place was an old bunker, me and Skeppy found it when we first arrived in the city.” Bad explained. “There’s six rooms including this one - which is the common area by the way. There’s the stock room, sleeping quarters, hall, cafeteria and security. The names of the rooms are self explanatory.” Bad chuckled. For each aforementioned room, Bad pointed to the doorway that led to them. The pair were barely able to comprehend the information Bad was throwing at them before they were being gently pushed to head towards the hall.

“We’ll introduce you to everyone, don’t be intimidated, you’ll learn their names eventually!” Bad smiled encouragingly as he lead them into the equally large room that was dubbed the hall. It had chairs spread out that sat the many occupants of the bunker who were waiting patiently for the meeting to start. At the front of the room stood Skeppy in front of a microphone looking impatiently towards Bad and tapping his foot on the stone floor. Somewhere along the way Skeppy had discarded his rifle, now standing weaponless in front of the crowd.

“When you said you’d found a few likeminded people I didn’t expect this.” Sapnap admitted, looking out at the chattering society. Dream made a noise of agreement before questioning Bad; “how do you know if all these people are trustworthy- hell how do you know we’re trustworthy?” 

Bad clicked his tongue and let out a small laugh to himself. “At first Skeppy was sceptical but I just seem to have a knack for finding good people.” Bad gave a hearty smile which Dream tried to replicate poorly. He was too in shock to properly smile, mind still processing where they were and what was going on. To ground himself, Dream reached to fiddle with George’s goggles. 

Sapnap gave Dream a reassuring toothy grin as the pair watched Bad walk to the front of the room to where Skeppy stood expectedly. “Hi everyone!” Bad said merrily through the microphone, the chattering of the crowd immediately died. “I have some people to introduce to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I have a confession; I have never watched a Skeppy video in my life. All I know about him is what I have gathered from random things here and there - that is my explanation of why his character might not be as reflective of his actual personality. Sorry.
> 
> I hope this chapter flows well, I really wanted it to end with the boys reaching the bunker as to make sure the story doesnt drag on.
> 
> Anyways, if you find any mistakes please tell me, I edited this when I was very tired. 
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated!!


	7. Chapter 7

A clang of metal abruptly woke George from his fitful sleep, startling him and causing his head to meet the solid floor with force. With a groan the short boy tried to calm his already unbearable headache by massaging his temple with his left hand.

“Where the fuck am I?” George said to no one, now more aware of himself and his surroundings. Briefly he registered a throbbing sensation in his right hand before his attention was directed elsewhere. His eyes scanned the near pitch black cell he appeared to be trapped in. The only source of light was the dying embers from a small candle which sat in the opposite end of the room. Panic built with each second as he tried the recall the events that found him in this place. Much to his displeasure his mind remained blank, leaving him in complete ignorance as to how he ended up in a cell.

The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in a house in the suburbs of New York City. Distinctly he remembered Sapnap’s words from that night, they rang out obnoxiously in his mind; ‘no member of the Dream Team left behind - no matter what happens.’ Where were they then?

Any events that occurred after that night remained cloudy and unknown to George, engulfed in an aura of anxiety at his situation. Hundreds of questions swarmed him, consuming his mind as he lay dumbly on the floor of his metal cage. Where were his friends? Why was he in a cell? How long had he been here? Why does his right hand hurt so badly-

George immediately brought his aforementioned hand up to his eyes view, inspecting the stinging limb in the poor lighting. To his surprise he was met with white - a bandage was tied neatly around the hand, clean and pristine. Curiosity as to the extent of damage underneath the white cloth was overridden by his belief in the statement ‘ignorance is bliss’. Frankly he felt he had already enough on his plate to figure out before having to worry about a painful wound, for now he would leave his right hand in the fabric casing.

For what felt like hours George scoured his mind, reaching for memories that only served to make his head throb harder and causing him to cringe in pain. He lay with his back on the hard floor staring up into the dim abyss above him. Eventually his mind grew tired and too pained for him to continue his train of thought, leaving him to mindlessly daydream. 

Frustratingly the boy’s stomach rumbled ferociously, a noise he attempted to ignore as to not worsen his already sour mood. After the millionth growl of his stomach, George suddenly got up in annoyance which caused his pained head to spin. The cell became a blur as George tried to steady himself on the grey painted iron bars. “Okay, okay, okay - no sudden movements. Got it.” The male whispered into the darkness.

Once his head had stopped spiralling and he was able to stand steady he began his attempt at making as much noise as possible.

Firstly he tried to rattle the bars but to his luck they were solidly cemented into the floor - they weren’t going to budge an inch. Secondly, he brought his right hand down harshly on the metal - a huge mistake. Pain rattled his entire being as regret instantly flooded him, why had he forgotten his injury so easily. He was an idiot. So after a millennia of waiting for the pain to dissipate from his wounded right hand he resorted to reaching for his white clout goggles to bang against the metal barrier. His hand came up empty after grasping for the accessory that would’ve hung from his top. 

With a frown engraved on his face, George slumped down beside the bars, right hand cupped in his left as it remained to pang with affliction. Where had his goggles gone - they were quite honestly his most important possession. While an apocalyptic world left no room for sentimental objects, those dumb glasses had been George’s exception. Dream had found them for him when they’d first found each other, after he had been alone for so long-

The successive clangs of someone’s steps alerted George, bringing his attention back to his situation at hand. George remained hushed as he listened to the half hearted whistle that accompanied the heavy foot fall. A near soundless click was the only warning George was given as the person must’ve flicked a switch to turn on the bright yellow fluorescent lights that buzzed like a fly above the trapped boy’s head. The stark change from the gloom to the obnoxious lights only helped in worsening his headache and made his eyes scrunch as he reluctantly adjusted to the influx of artificial light to his surroundings.

The lazy banging of feet on metal continued with increasing volume until it sounded like the person had reached the bottom of a stairwell. George felt endangered, head pounding and eyes still left squinting from the too bright light to see the approaching stranger. 

“Hello, George was it?” Once George’s eyes had finally adjusted fully he allowed them to open, revealing the person who now stood facing him from the other side of the bars. A hand which held a small bread roll was extended down towards his position on the floor, something he grabbed immediately with greatfulness.

The owner of the hand was a tall guy, definitely taller than him or Sapnap. He was clad in a brown trench coat which hung on his body over a black turtleneck with matching black boots. The brown curly hair atop his head and the circular glasses over his eyes made him look like he was straight out of one of those magazines he’d seen in the petrol stations. After analysing his clothing, George finally noticed the clumsy smile on the stranger’s face and realised he needed to reply to the stranger. 

“Hello.” George said awkwardly. He ushed in embarrassment after realising he was still sat in the position on the floor from where he’d slumped earlier and clutching the bread like it was worth his weight in gold. 

The guy’s smile only widened at George’s graceless reply, tucking his hands into the large pockets of his trench coat. “You obviously remember me of course?“ Wilbur’s words were stopped in their tracks when George’s face contorted into that of a confused expression. “You don’t remember me?” George nodded his head in reply, not sure of what he could say. Was he meant to remember the tall stranger? A cunning smile flashed upon the taller’s lips, disappearing so fast that George nearly doubted that his eyes had even witnessed it. “Right- I’m Wilbur.” The other male said casually, like this were just some normal meeting between friends.

George just nodded, too focused on the food in his hands and his uncoordinated attempt to get up whilst his headache screamed for the lights to be turned off. “Do you think you could turn the lights off? Or at least dim them?” George said with a tight voice after he noticed the other male watching him curiously. Wilbur nodded and disappeared, heading back up the metal staircase where he had appeared from. This left George to try steady himself in peace. 

Just as George had managed to sort himself out so he could stand despite the roaring headache, the lights turned off. He was plunged into darkness, freezing out of unease of what to do. The clanging of footsteps returned to grace George’s ears - at least his headache had lessened significantly due to the lack of stupid lights. Hurriedly George scoffed the bread into his mouth like a rabid animal, as if he had some sort of irrational fear that Wilbur would steal the food back from him before he had the chance to eat it. 

Wilbur had returned with a little oil lamp hanging from his hand, the soft light barely illuminating the room. The taller male stopped in front of George, watching him for a few unsettling moments in complete silence, as if he was analysing the shorter boy. 

“Why am I here?” George started with feigned confidence. Wilbur’s eyebrows only raised in quiet surprise at George’s words, as if he had not expected the colourblind boy to question how and why he was trapped in a cell. 

Languidly Wilbur rolled back on his heels and rocked forward and backwards for a moment, lost in thought. “So you really don’t remember anything?” George nodded in silent confirmation. Wilbur hummed. Carefully the oil lamp was attached to a small hook on the far side of the wall before Wilbur returned to face George who stood uncomfortably behind the bars. George had never been good with strangers, he just wasn’t good with people in general - something Dream had playfully bullied him about an infinite amount of times. 

Dream. Where was Dream and Sapnap?

“Do you know where my friends are-“

“You were bit.” Wilbur interrupted with a grave tone. George’s thoughts were instantly vaporised. His eyes moved heavily to his right, bandage covered hand. 

“I was bit?” He said dumbly to himself, brown eyes stuck to the white fabric. Morbid curiosity struck the short male. Internally he now itched to reveal the concealed wound which had throbbed throughout his moments of consciousness since he had awoken in the cell. One thought reigned his mind, why wasn’t he dead?

Wilbur gauged George’s reaction before continuing to narrate in an almost regretful tone. “We found you alone and unconscious in the street near our compound, your head was bleeding on the concrete quite terribly.” A short pause allowed the smaller to take in the information before the curly haired male continued. “Your hand was obviously bit but we thought we could help you- and thus we left you to recover in here as a... precaution.” 

George’s brown eyes looked up to meet Wilbur’s own, confusion clouding his vision. Terribly his mind yet again spiralled at the implications of Wilbur’s description of events. Questions overwhelmed him but his throat felt choked. 

“How am I alive?” Was all that George could manage to say, his voice weak and emotions evidently raw by the quiet tone.

“A miracle!” Wilbur chuckled, trying to uplift the mood. George couldn’t even try to rise to Wilbur’s example, the situation at hand had not yet sunk in fully. 

“I should be dead- Or at least turned into one of those things-“

“We call them zombies.” Wilbur cut in, trying to ease George’s tension ridden self. “Me and my friends found this newspaper which must’ve been from when the apocalypse first started.” The older paused with a small smile on his face as he reminisced. “It talked about the undead things- calling them zombies.” 

The distraction had momentarily calmed George, he had always disliked calling them ‘things’. “Interesting.” Wilbur smiled and nodded in agreement. Silence engulfed the room, George’s terrible social skills were disregarded as he tried to sort his brain out. Wilbur waited patiently, hands still stuck deep into his coat’s pockets. “So am I clear? Like am I definitely not going to become one of those thin- zombies?”

“Yeah,” Wilbur continued to rock on his heels. “That’s actually the reason I came down in the first place. You’d been out cold for nearly two weeks now.” 

George froze. Two weeks. 

“And you said you found me alone?” Wilbur nodded. “And you haven’t met anyone looking for me?” Wilbur nodded again.

Two weeks was a long time. George’s head hurt. George’s heart hurt.

Two weeks was plenty of time to relocate George if he’d somehow become separated from the pair. How far could they have gone to have lost him to the point that a whole two weeks wasn’t enough to try find him. Dream was the smartest person he knew. Why hadn’t he found him? Where were they? Sapnap’s words from the last night he remembered spending with his friends echoed in his mind. 

George’s silent contemplation was broken momentarily as Wilbur moved to where he had descended from, pausing at the bottom of the metal stairs. “I’m going to get the key.” When George didn’t reply the taller continued to move, leaving George with only his thoughts as company.

Maybe he was overreacting, God knows how he ended up bit and bleeding out on a pavement. But then where had Dream and Sapnap been and why hadn’t they helped him? He must’ve shouted or something which would’ve alerted the pair to his whereabouts. 

George’s mind was only able to supply one answer. It was the only logical solution as to the circumstances of how George had been found bleeding out in the middle of a zombie infested city with a bite. Unfortunately for the colourblind boy, that answer left him feeling sick and heart torn. 

Why had they left him to die?


	8. Chapter 8

It’d been nearly two weeks since they first were brought to the bunker, nearly two weeks since they’d been outside, nearly two weeks since the incident.

Nearly two weeks since they’d seen George. 

Dream and Sapnap sat upon metal chairs in the cafeteria of the bunker. The general noise of conversation and people ambling around served as background noise behind them as they sat in silence in their own little world. In front of them sat bowls of plain oats, left untouched and forgotten. 

To say they’d settled in well at the compound would be a lie - they felt like a pair of rebellious misfits amongst the strict rule abiding general population of the bunker. It wasn’t like the people were horrible, the opposite was true, they just couldn’t bring themselves to get comfortable when George was out there. Somewhere. After being in a trio for so long it was especially hard to openly trust so many strangers - they couldn’t even remember anyone’s names. 

One of the main things the pair had found difficult during the past two weeks was that Bad was a busy man. The glasses wearing male was constantly organising, solving disputes, holding meetings - they were lucky to even catch a moment of his time. This left little to no space for them to remind him of their desperate situation. Frankly they felt hopeless and isolated despite the little society Skeppy and Bad had created and welcomed them into. Not to mention everyone in the bunker was barred from going outside, only allowing Skeppy and his little group of minions to escape the oppressive cement walls to find supplies.

The pair couldn’t comprehend how the population of the bunker had no motivation to go outside, how could they not grow sick of the monotonous whitewashed walls? How could these people be content with busying themselves in conversation and books for entertainment when a world lay in wait outside? Were they that afraid of those things? 

Dream and Sapnap itched to see the sun, to feel the air, and to find George.

In total Bad had spent five minutes of time speaking with Dream and Sapnap of George’s whereabouts, the former apologising profusely whenever he was called away by another for some ‘vital issues’. It didn’t stop the pair from growing more and more frustrated and restless despite Bad’s honest claims that Skeppy and his group were always on the lookout for the ‘missing’ boy. Dream and Sapnap knew it wouldn’t be enough to find George, but they were too reluctant to tell Bad of the whole truth, especially when it could lead to the complete abandonment of any plans to find George in the first place. 

They’d brought up the name Techno to Bad casually in one of the moments they’d seen the latter passing by. Bad had vaguely mentioned of how he’d met the monotone male before, a forgettable encounter he claimed. Bad advocated darkly that Techno ‘was only trouble’, someone to be avoided – only adding to the pair’s heavy concern for the colourblind boy’s condition. He had also, however, mentioned of Techno’s incredible survival skills, able to defend his compound that lay starkly in the South of the city.

Instantly Dream thought of the pristine stone building which he’d first seen the male standing on the balcony of. Dream and Sapnap were about to question further of how to reach Techno’s compound from the bunker before being immediately shut down by Bad, muttering something about it being a death wish. Just as the pair were about to interrogate the other male further he was whisked away, off to do some more ‘leader stuff’ they assumed. 

And thus here the pair were; sitting pitifully and deep in thought on cold metal chairs. 

“Okay- we can’t sit here like idiots any longer.” Dream said, standing up suddenly. The metal legs of the chair scrapped against the hard stone floor with a screech, the noise lost however amongst the general chattering of people in the cafeteria. Sapnap’s eyes lazily looked up to Dream before the raven haired boy sighed and followed suit.

A few days ago the pair had decided an ultimatum to their stay at the underground bunker. If Bad hadn’t notified them of any progress in their search for George they would leave – even if it meant they weren’t allowed to return. Today was decidedly the day they would enact their plan, George needed to be found sooner rather than later. They foolishly retained the hope that the short boy was still alive, even if it went against basic logic. “Come on.” The blonde said, beginning to walk towards the room dubbed ‘the stock room’. 

The aforementioned room, Bad had told them upon the first day of their arrival at the compound, was where they not only stored food but also weapons. Apparently they’d banned people from carrying their weapons around as a general safety precaution, leaving Sapnap and Dream to reluctantly hand over their respective weapons much to their discomfort. 

Just as they’d arrived at the stock room’s double doors an arm stopped Dream from entering, abruptly extending out in front of him. More specifically, Skeppy’s arm. 

Skeppy cocked his eyebrow, looking at the pair like he’d caught them red handed. “And you’re doing what?” 

“Going out.” Dream uttered impatiently, returning the fed-up look Skeppy had displayed on his face.

“No you’re not.”

“Yes we are.” Sapnap piped up from behind Dream’s shoulder, moving forward to forcibly lower Skeppy’s arm. 

A low chuckle rose from Skeppy as he looked between the offending pair. “You’re not allowed.” He paused, giving a levelling look to them. “You want me to go get Bad?”

Dream blinked, his mind knowing that Bad would not only reiterate Skeppy’s words but also be able to give out consequences for breaking rules. With feigned tiredness and resignation, Dream sighed out “fine.”

“Dream?-“ Sapnap said in confusion as the blonde moved away from Skeppy and the doors.

“Come on Sapnap, we’re not allowed to leave for our safety. Just accept it.” 

“But Dream? George?-“ 

“Sapnap. Just let it go. They’ll find him eventually.” Dream’s forceful tone surprised Sapnap before he caught onto what the former was doing. Following Dream’s example, Sapnap sighed and threw a hostile look back to Skeppy, seemingly also giving up and leaving to follow the taller towards the sleeping quarters.

One of the worst things about being in a bunker underground for an extended period of time was that you couldn’t wake up alongside the sun. How all these people hadn’t gone stir crazy amazed the pair as they longed to see nature. They missed the sun. They missed George. As the pair settled onto the bunk bed in the corner that they’d claimed their own (as it was the furthest from all the other beds) they felt no exhaustion, both buzzing to try figure out an escape. 

“Do you think George will be mad at us for taking so long to find him?” Sapnap thought aloud quietly with only Dream close enough to hear the words. Dream chuckled before replying.

“He’ll be pissed but he’ll get over it.” Sapnap smiled and nodded in agreement, slipping into a comfortable silence as their thoughts overwhelmed them.

Despite all odds, Dream and Sapnap clung onto the weakening strings of hope for dear life, neither able to entertain even the thought of George being dead. Rather their brains blocked out any possibility of a negative outcome for their reunion with the oldest boy, instead focusing on the thought of the feeling of wholeness that they had been devoid of for the past two weeks. Dream knew this hope wouldn’t be wasted, it couldn’t be, for it was his foundations for what he built his will to live on.

—

Gradually people filtered into the sleeping quarters with yawns and hushed goodnights. Around ten minutes later the lights went out, plunging the room into an inescapable darkness. 

From their time at the underground compound so far, they’d worked out that Skeppy’s group that he went on searches outside with kept guard whilst the rest of the population slept. If one listened closely enough you could hear the footfall of their boots on the concrete as they walked around the perimeter of the compound excluding the sleeping quarters. They were the only ones permitted to keep guns on them inside the base. And thus they were to be avoided at all costs.

“Dream?” Sapnap whispered out into the gloom.

“Sh.” The green eyed boy’s harsh hush to Sapnap shut up the younger male immediately, resigning himself to just trust and follow Dream out of their beds.

—

The pair rounded the corner out of the sleeping quarters into the common room in complete stealth, the only sound the careful steps as they moved and their shallow breathing. Small red lights provided dull illumination of the area, making it just bearable enough to be able to see. ‘Where are the guards?’ Dream questioned to himself in worried confusion. Sapnap seemed to be thinking the same thing as when Dream looked back he saw the former’s perplexed face that mirrored his own. 

Something wasn’t right. An uncomfortable, creeping feeling overcame him as he kept creeping along the edge of the large room. Something was wrong.

A stark white light blurted into their eyes, momentarily blinding the pair as they raised their hands swiftly to shield their vision. “What-“ Sapnap uttered dumbly in shock, trying to discern the owner of the obnoxious brightness.

“I knew you two would be up to some shit.” Skeppy’s voice rang out, breaking the fog that had consumed the pair’s brains as he slightly lowered the light as to not directly shine into their eyes. Skeppy tapped his rifle with one hand casually in subconscious warning, pointedly keeping the torchlight focused on the pair accusingly with the other hand. “Too bad you forgot about the existence of security cameras.”

A sigh came from the left of Skeppy, the bright light having obscured the other persons existence. The sigh however obviously revealed the other’s identity.

“Bad?” Sapnap started at the man’s appearance from the darkness. Bad’s glasses shined uncharacteristically from the reflection of the torch, giving the man a menacing persona. 

“You know I didn’t want to believe him when he said you’d try escape tonight...” Bad said, his tone weary.

Dream and Sapnap stood still, unknowing of what to say or do. The blonde felt his frustration boil intensely, mixing with his inherent guilt which had consumed him since George was taken. They didn’t have time for this - they’d already wasted two weeks; his best friend was out there at the mercy of some psycho. Dream’s mind spiralled. Too tired to wait for the pair’s response Bad continued. “I get you want to find your friend but we’re already doing our best to find him-“

“Your best isn’t good enough.” Dream began, words mustering from nowhere as his brain failed to comprehend his own actions. His words began to tail off in volume pathetically. Bad smiled sympathetically, reigniting Dream’s anger.

“Relax Dream, we’ll find-“

“Techno fucking has him!” Dream profoundly shouted into the void of darkness. 

Two weeks’ worth of the feeling of culpability exploded in the form of those words, leaving Dream defenceless and in pain. Desperately Dream grasped for George’s white glasses that still hung on his shirt for comfort, tightening his grip to ground himself until he had to stop as to not break them. The world seemed to stop turning as his words echoed quietly like mocking reminders of his failure to protect his dearest companion.

An unnerving silence enveloped them, Bad and Skeppy’s faces were that of unbridled stupefaction. Sapnap moved his hand to rest of Dream’s shoulder in quiet support and comfort, squeezing his hand as Dream exhaled heavily. He hadn’t realised he’d been holding his breath this whole time. 

“Please. We need to go.” Sapnap said pointedly. “God knows what’s happened to him in two weeks.“ The black haired boy’s face was pleading and tone desperate, trying to appeal to Bad. 

“Techno has him...” Bad’s quiet words trailed off in thought, eyes focused on the cement floor. After a few seconds Bad looked back up to the pair with understanding shining in his brown eyes that were obscured slightly by his glasses. He let out a small melancholy chuckle. “He was bit then.”

Yet again Sapnap and Dream were stunned into silence. Surprised, their mind’s thrummed in bewilderment as to how Bad had come to that conclusion, even if it was the right one. Bad smiled pitifully at their lack of response, realising that it was confirmation of his statement. “You should be scared of even the thought of going outside these walls.” Bad began, his face contorted into a barricade of solemnity. “I have seen too many die and I don’t think you understand that.”

“This isn’t some kind of prison, we can choose to leave.” Sapnap clarified, his voice seething with annoyance.

“You’ll die out there.” 

Sapnap exaggeratedly rolled his eyes at Bad’s words “We’ve survived this long.”

“Look what happened to your friend.” 

Dream’s brain went into overdrive at Bad’s words, his body already frozen at the situation. What did Bad know about Techno that lead him to that conclusion. They needed to know before they left, it could be their only clue as to what happened to George upon his capture and if he was even alive.

“Don’t you see, these walls are safe and safety is rare. Stay and we’ll protect you.” 

“We can’t.” Dream said, his voice unyielding, ending his abstention to speak. Skeppy chuckled from behind the torchlight, as if his brain just told himself a joke. 

“I knew you were a pain in the arse from the moment I saw you.”

Dream branded his green eyes onto Skeppy, face unfeeling as he continued to speak despite the latter’s interruption. Sapnap stood in silent support beside the blonde. “Give us our shit back and we’re leaving, our minds are made.” Bad and Skeppy made no motion to move, leaving Dream to turn to more manipulative tactics.

“...Or your little compounds whereabouts will become breaking news to Techno.” 

“How do you know I won’t just kill you here.” Skeppy stated ruthlessly, raising his gun with a sly look on his face.

Dream levelled a gaze with Skeppy, a cocky smile growing on his face as he motioned to Bad. “‘Cause he won’t let you.” 

Skeppy’s head turned to Bad for confirmation despite already knowing Dream’s words to be true. His friend would never allow him to kill in cold blood, not when there were other options. Bad sighed with reluctance. “Fine. You win. Skeppy go get their stuff.” With irritation and deliberate slowness, Skeppy handed Bad the torchlight and moved away to the storage room, throwing a forceful stare at Dream and Sapnap.

“Fuck yes. George here we come.” Dream heard Sapnap whisper lowly beside him, causing his own smile to stretch wider across his face. 

Bad thus turned his attention back to the pair slowly, giving an almost pained smile to them as they stood expectedly. “Techno is renowned in this city for one thing.” He paused, as if he was stocking up the courage to continue. “He’s trying to find a cure- to stop people turning.” 

Dream frowned, his mind connecting the dots. This would mean Techno wasn’t going to kill George outright like he’d said, he was going to use him because he was bit? 

“George has been bitten right? Who knows what Techno’s doing to him.” Bad’s pensive words spilled from his mouth, “no one really knows what he does, just takes anyone he can find into his palace – has a group of cronies – I’ve heard he’s even got kids working for him. Back in Downtown Manhattan. Near where we found you.”

“Thank you.” Dream stopped the male’s nervous word vomiting with a genuinely grateful tone. Bad adjusted his glasses and gave a despondent smile in reply as Skeppy finally returned with their gear. Sapnap excitedly grabbed his katana from Skeppy’s full arms and slid the blade into his belt. Dream took his shotgun and knives, deciding to leave his crossbow as to maintain a lighter load. They would need to be inconspicuous from here on out. And to be inconspicuous one would need to carry less weight.

“You can leave tomorrow when it’s light outside-“ Bad begun before Dream and Sapnap moved forward, towards the entrance at the other side of the common area. 

“We leave tonight.” Sapnap asserted, continuing to walk alongside Dream, casually past Bad and Skeppy. Bad muttered a few unidentifiable words of frustration under his breath before he called out to Eret as they moved, the latter appearing out of seemingly nowhere to unlock the door. 

He arrived so quickly to Bad's side, he must’ve been secretly listening to their conversation, Dream noted mentally. 

Eret casually undid the multitude of heavy bolts and locks on the door before slowly swinging open the heavy metal barrier to display the passageway to freedom. The secretive male gave Sapnap and Dream an odd grin behind his dark sunglasses that he seemed determined to wear twenty-four seven. Even in the darkness he donned those glasses that totally obscured his eyes. Dream didn’t trust the male, eyes were windows to the soul and Eret’s soul was a dangerous enigma.

“Here you go gentleman.” Eret said, grandly motioning to the opened doorway, a grin still plastered on his face that gave Sapnap and Dream an uncomfortable feeling. By now Skeppy and Bad had followed the pair to the doorway, standing there silently. Skeppy looked indifferent whilst Bad seemed conflicted. Dream turned to Bad, green eyes meeting brown. 

“You’re a good guy, Bad.” Dream said genuinely. 

“Goodluck. I hope you find George.” Bad replied with a rueful smile. Dream and Sapnap nodded determinedly in unison before turning and not looking back, even when the heavy iron door clanged shut forebodingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finallyyyyyyyyy they're gonna do something jeeeezzzzzz
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, I can't wait to write the next chapter already :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope ya’ll are ready >:D  
> This chapter is 4k, so enjoy!

George climbed up the metal steps thoughtlessly. Wilbur kept up easily behind him, seemingly unbothered by George’s slow pace. His hands had been handcuffed as an acceptable precaution - he should’ve turned into a zombie by now after all but apparently he was some freak of nature. The further up the staircase they went the louder the chatter became, made up of around two to three distinct voices that George failed to recognise. “Nearly there.” Wilbur encouraged, noticing George’s growing weariness from his general condition. Apparently fighting off a zombie infection took a great toll on your body. 

As promised by Wilbur, soon they reached the top of the stairs, the passageway opening up into a stone hallway with high ceilings and carved features detailing the extravagant yet cold corridor. White marble statues lined the sides of the walls intermittently, presenting the forms of perfectly carved human bodies depicting opulent poses. The floor was patterned with tiles that resembled artwork more than flooring, marvellously reflecting the light that streamed in from large leaded windows. It was quite overwhelming for someone who was so used to staying in decrepit and overgrown buildings. It was like a palace - he wouldn’t be surprised if it actually was.

Wilbur realised George’s awe as he paused beside the shorter male. He rested his arms on either side of his waist with a chuffed expression, looking around too like it was his first time in the building. “You never get sick of this place, hell, this isn’t even the best of it.” Wilbur gave George a glowing smile that caused his brown eyes to shine, something George tried and failed to return. At least he tried. 

With a wave, Wilbur motioned George to follow as he led them through a grand, dark wooden door. It opened to reveal, what George guessed to be, a red plush carpeted room, the colour appearing to George as more of a dark grey. Walls were lined in bookshelves with an incomprehensible array of books filling the shelves, their brightly coloured covers creating a multitude of rainbow patterns across the walls. George could only imagine how much better it would’ve looked if he wasn’t colour blind. Regardless, the deep navy velvet sofas called George’s name as his body wished to lay on their soft surfaces with the golden chandelier hanging charmingly above. 

Too involved in taking in the gorgeously furnished room, up until then, George had pointedly ignored the rooms inhabitants. Wilbur, however, appeared to have plans to introduce George as he gently pushed the shorter forward and further into the room.

“And then I fuckin’ kicked its head in with one hit and blood went-“ The hyper words from the blonde kid were stopped in their tracks as he noticed the appearance of Wilbur and George, the boy’s blue eyes going wide as he unapologetically looked George up and down in disbelief. Eventually his eyes stopped on George’s bandaged right hand.

“Holy shit,” The blonde boy said, standing up from his position in front of the other man on the sofa. “Tubbo!” And with that he ran off, assumedly to find this ‘Tubbo’ person. George was too occupied with the room to give any more thought to the matter as he was engulfed in what he could only describe as unattainable luxury.

“That was Tommy.” Wilbur chuckled, as he moved George to sit upon one of the sofas. George couldn’t find reason to object, settling himself on the edge of the closest sofa and relaxing his body from its unconsciously tense position. His arms remained uncomfortable from the metal constraints but he didn’t ask to remove the cuffs, relating that he too wouldn’t trust someone who should be a zombie.

Wilbur moved to sit beside the other male in the room who had remained silent since George’s entrance, throwing his long arms over the back of the sofa as he slumped lazily. “This is Techno, did I mention him yet?” George shook his head. Techno let out a huff to which Wilbur replied with a broad smile. “Give me a break, he only properly woke up, what, an hour ago? Less?” Techno rolled his eyes at the brown curly haired male.

“Nice to meet you, George.” George met Techno’s piercing black eyes which George realised were probably just very dark brown. 

“Nice to meet you too.” George said quieter and more hurriedly than he meant to. He probably sounded like a wimp. 

Wilbur and Techno begin chatting about something menial, George’s was brain too slow to try understand it so he allowed his mind to drift. His brown eyes made their way to the stained wooden coffee table that sat between the sofas. Upon it was a book which title he was barely able to read; Crime and Punishment by someone whose name he wouldn’t be able to pronounce. Quickly he became bored of the near barren table, eyes once again meandering around the room.

“So, George,” Techno began, grabbing George’s attention immediately. “You obviously have something... Unique about you. Something that meant your body was able to reject the infection. Any clue what?” George stared dumbly at the male, brain whirring uselessly as Techno dived straight into questioning.

“Um. I’m colourblind?” George offered, unsure if Techno was asking for a serious answer as his tone had been tinged with interested amusement. Wilbur chuckled at his answer whilst Techno raised an eyebrow. 

“Perhaps that could be the influential difference in your DNA...” He muttered lowly to himself, causing George to frown. “Well in any case, you’re obviously an anomaly - but an important one at that. Wilbur, I think we can take those handcuffs off, he is a guest after all.” The tallest male got up with a relaxed pace, winking at George as he whipped out the key from his trench coat pocket, making quick work of the lock before returning to his place on the sofa with the handcuffs in hand. 

George rung his fingers around his wrists where the metal cuffs had dug into his skin, rubbing life back into the reddened skin. Just as Techno appeared to begin speaking again a distracting thud of footsteps stopped him in his tracks.

Bursting through the double doors at the end of the room was the Tommy kid and, who George assumed to be, the aforementioned ‘Tubbo’. 

The blonde kid outright pointed to George, not even bothering to hide his feelings of incredulity. “See! I told you!” Tommy exclaimed to the quieter looking brown haired male. Tubbo stared at George like he was an exhibit, blue eyes wide in amazement. 

“No fuckin’ way Tommy, how is he actually alive?” Tubbo cried, mirroring Tommy’s excitable energy. George only continued to sit there and feign ignorance despite their loudness.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Boys come on now, let’s relax a little yeah?” Wilbur said in an attempt to calm the blonde and brown haired boys. It surprisingly worked as the pair hushed and moved to sit beside George at a comfortable distance, though they continued to keep their eyes glued on him which made unease continue to flood through his veins.

Techno turned to George and thus begun to speak again, breaking the somewhat awkward silence created from the boy’s sudden quietness. “I’m sorry your friends left you behind.” He paused, decidedly mulling on how to continue. His voice was undeniably genuine with sympathy, yet George noticed an unexplainable unstirred tone that underlined his words. 

“Are you sure they weren’t around?“ George asked, overwhelmed by the current situation yet still trying to hold on hope that his friends wouldn’t abandon him. “Like they might’ve just lost me - they could be out there looking for me still.” His questioning tone reflected the worsening cracks of doubt that increasingly corrupted his hope, who knows how long it would take for him to give up on his friends completely. 

Techno and Wilbur’s faces reflected consoling pity, obviously not finding any of the possibilities George had proposed as viable. Tommy was the one to speak next unexpectedly. “You were lying with your head smacked, bleeding out on the floor - plus there were no zombies round you - meaning you got the bite before you nearly broke your skull. No one gets that kind of injury from tripping over.” George wished the boy hadn’t spoken at all, the implication of his words an unbearable weight on his mind. Every word Tommy had said cut into his heart as it left fewer and fewer reasons to believe in his friends. Or what he thought were his friends.

“Look, George, I’m going to be straight with you here. I think you could be a fundamental factor in something big. Something bigger than all of us.” Techno said, his voice intelligent and steady as George’s attention was solely focused on him, he was a charismatic speaker. 

“What do you mean?” George reluctantly questioned, only wanting to escape as he felt an invisible pressure build on him.

“I guess you could call it a ‘cure’ of some sorts.” Techno stated. Tommy and Tubbo listened silently beside George, looking towards him to gauge his reaction. The colourblind boy was too tired for this shit. Plus his right hand had begun to sting dreadfully – he just wanted to sleep. 

“Do you think I could go to rest now? And we could maybe talk about this later?” George mumbled, not yet allowing himself to fully understand Techno’s words for his own sanity’s sake.

Wilbur got up and clapped his hands, trying to rectify the odd mood created. “Right. We’re being such terrible hosts, come with me George.” He said apologetically. As George got up and moved to follow the tallest male out of the grand room Techno uttered a kind ‘sleep well’ to him which he embraced as he was taken to presumably where he would sleep. 

Wilbur had presented George with what he dubbed the ‘cosiest room in the building’. Compared to the limited areas he had seen so far, George agreed with Wilbur’s description. It was a quaint room that housed a double bed covered in heavenly soft sheets and blankets. He had never seen that level of comfort in his entire existence. The room was sparsely decorated with grey walls, cream carpet, a small bookcase, a bedside cabinet and a tall mirror edged in gold trimming. The room radiated a simple warmth. But George honestly couldn’t bring himself to care about the room’s decoration, not when a bed like that lay in wait to immerse himself into.

Wilbur let out a comforting ‘goodnight’ before he carefully closed the door. Straight away the brown haired male flopped onto the bed, limbs turning limp as he simply existed. Eventually he slid under the duvet, pulling it so it rested under his chin. Sleep overtook him like one of those waves he saw along the coast two years ago.

—

Coincidently he dreamed of the awe inspiring blue expanse that Dream had showed him. The shades of blue so ethereal as the sun had glinted upon the ocean, like a sign that perhaps a God did exist in this polluted world. A knock on the door made him sit up suddenly out of the warm cocoon of sheets with a jolt - pulled out of his dreamy existence.

Wilbur slowly opened the door, a tray balanced on one hand and a bright smile on his face. “Sleep well?” George was too groggy to reply verbally, only nodding unintelligently, eyes focused on the contents of the tray. It was two slices of bread with some kind of yellow substance melted and spread upon it, the poignant smell made his taste buds water. Alongside it was a fancy glass which was filled with a yellow beverage. George nearly didn’t notice the two small pills that sat beside the bottom of the drink. The tray was sat down upon the duvet, within arm’s reach of George.

Wilbur began pointing at the contents of the plate individually, obviously noticing the smaller boy’s confusion. “This is toast, basically heated bread with butter on top, try it you’ll love it. This is apple juice. And these,” Wilbur hesitated slightly at the pills, meeting George’s eyes with a delicate look. “These are to help you cope with the pain.” 

George tried to give the other male an encouraging smile, “thank you, Wilbur.”

“No problem at all, do you remember the way back to the room we were in yesterday?” George nodded his head. “After you’ve finished go straight there and meet us, yeah?” George nodded again. Wilbur then left, flashing a quick smile to George before shutting the door as he went with a small click.

George inspected the plate further upon Wilbur’s disappearance, poking at the ‘toast’ with interest. Eventually he raised the bread slice to his mouth and was pleasantly surprised by its taste, leaving him to finish both pieces in record time. Next was the apple juice - he’d tasted an apple before of course, they weren’t exactly rare to find on trees. With a hesitant sip George found the taste undeniably pleasant, also finishing the glass with deliberate speed. The pills stared at him menacingly, but without thinking too deeply about it he swallowed them too - these people had no reason to treat him poorly so he would decidedly trust them.

—

Once he was out the door of his room, he chose to take a mini detour, namely to explore the palace like building further. George carefully roamed around the general vicinity of where he guessed the room from yesterday was, being careful not to stray too far as to not get lost. George noticed his right hand no longer throbbed, owing to those pills he quickly concluded. 

After ten minutes or so of sneaking around, George decided to return to where he was meant to meet the inhabitants of this place. Much to his frustration he’d found nothing worth noting on his detour - only more fancy art and statues. And so he walked as casually as he could into the room Wilbur had initially instructed him to meet him in. His entrance was met with a small chorus of ‘good mornings’.

Techno sat regally upon the navy sofa, a mug of some steaming liquid, probably tea George gathered from the smell, sat snugly in his hands. Tentatively George sat opposite the undeniably intimidating male who sat in a little bubble of peace despite Tommy, Tubbo and Wilbur seemingly deep in a brutish kind of banter. 

After a few stretching moments of self consciousness the doors where George had entered from only moments ago burst open, two strangers running in excitedly. “We’ve got a reply.” The blonde arrival said, his tone hurried yet gleeful. 

Techno stood up immediately to walk towards the new pair, placing the mug down on the wooden table and beckoning Wilbur to follow. Wilbur stood up, but before following Techno, he paused in front of Tommy and Tubbo. “Look after him today.” He motioned to George as he spoke. "Give him something distracting to do.” George gritted his teeth, he felt like a child as Wilbur placed the younger pair as his chaperones. Tommy saluted the older male dramatically causing Wilbur to roll his eyes fondly. And with a quick ‘goodbye’ from Wilbur, the two strangers, Techno and Wilbur were gone from sight. 

This left an immensely uncomfortable George with two excitable kids who had now turned to stare at him with their beady little eyes. “Hi.” George uttered, voice cracking slightly causing regret to instantly flood his body. 

George’s embarrassed state seemed to amuse the younger pair immensely as they burst into laughter at George’s expense. Once their laughter had died down Tubbo gave him a lopsided grin. “We didn’t really get to talk properly yesterday but it’s nice to meet you George.” George returned the lopsided grin as well as he could in his dizzied state.

The oldest boy decided to try change the subject to take his mind off his own awkwardness. “Who were those two people, what’d he mean by a ‘reply’?” Tommy looked beside him at Tubbo, as if to confirm whether he could answer George’s question.

“That was Punz and Ponk, they’re like our scouts I guess.” Tommy paused before deciding to continue. “They must’ve gotten a message from one of their informants about this… Project we’re working on.”

“Techno will probs tell you more about it later.” Tubbo offered to try lessen George’s confusion. George simply nodded, unsure of what he could add. “Anyways you can read right? Lemme show you one of my favourite series.” Tubbo stood up and moved towards the nearest wall to pull out a book, leaving Tommy to busy himself with his fingernails and a thoughtful expression on his face. Moments later Tubbo reappeared in front of George, a thick book outstretched in his hands. George was hesitant - his reading skills were slightly dubious due to lack of proper use. “Just read it. It’s easy, promise.” The book was shoved into the colour blind boy’s despondent hands, allowing Tubbo to sit back beside Tommy again, beginning to chatter about something George couldn’t be bothered to try comprehend .

The leather cover that lay heavily in his hands read ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ in fancy, cursive writing - peaking George’s interest. With nothing else to do, he opened the book and began reading with apparent interest. Tommy and Tubbo’s voices became drowned out background noise as he fully engrossed himself into the novel. 

For the next two days, George’s life revolved around the singular book. He would wake up to Wilbur’s jolly knocking, be brought toast, apple juice and two pills and then be escorted into the same room to meet Tubbo and Tommy who would ‘look after’ him. The younger pair would bring him food at lunch and dinner respectively, simple yet delicious dishes, and then Wilbur would return to bring George to bed – like he was some incapable toddler. During these two days Techno, Wilbur, Punz and Ponk never seemed to have time to stay in the room – either excusing themselves or not even being present in the room in the first place. It made sense in George’s mind – there must’ve been a multitude of rooms for them to spend their time in from what George had seen so far of the extravagant building.

On the morning of the third day George finished the book, setting it down on the bed with an accomplished grin gracing his face. He had woken up before Wilbur had arrived, leaving him with nothing to do, sitting up in bed fully alert. Quickly he became restless, swinging his feet over the side of the bed before hopping onto the cream carpeted floor. Slowly his brown eyes met the door, his mind conflicted. Could he leave without Wilbur? It’s not like he was going to run away, he was literally just going to go to the room Wilbur took him to anyways. 

Without deliberating any further, George moved towards the door, his hand reaching for the door knob and determinedly pulling open the barrier and walking into the hallway. His feet felt cold on the shiny tiles as he leisurely strolled through the hallways, he had forgotten to put on his shoes but he figured it was too late to turn back now anyway. A minutes later, George arrived at the large wooden doors that would open into the room he had spent the majority of the past two days in. Muffled voices alerted him that he wasn’t the first to arrive at the room. 

He hesitated to open the doors, his hand hovering over the door knob, momentarily wishing he’d just waited for Wilbur in his room. Shaking his head in annoyance at his own daft worries, George swung open the door, making his way into the room with imitated confidence. Upon his entrance he spotted Techno intensely talking to someone he had not yet encountered - a brown eyed male who wore dark sunglasses atop his mop of brown hair.

Techno stood up suddenly in surprise at George’s entrance, his face contorted into implicit bewilderment – the most emotionally unkept George had seen the male so far. “Where’s Wilbur?-“ Techno began, his tone confused with a hint of exasperation. As if on cue, the stressed shouts of Wilbur calling George’s name became audible to the trio, making Techno sigh and massage his temple as if to calm a headache whilst the stranger grinned at George cheekily from his position on the sofa. Less than a few seconds later Wilbur emerged from the doorway, his face etched in apprehension but immediately easing into a small, relieved smile as his eyes spotted George.

“Wilbur.” Techno started, making the aforementioned male raise his hands in his defence. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” The tallest boy turned to George, “please don’t leave without me again, or at least warn me beforehand. I thought you’d gone and offed yourself.” 

“Sorry.” George muttered with an apologetic look, moving his attention to the approaching stranger who adjusted the sunglasses on his head before holding his hand out to George for a handshake. “Hello George, my name’s Eret. A pleasure to meet you.” George mutely stared at the outstretched hand, unable to voice his worry that he would have to use his bitten right hand to shake Eret’s. A few quiet seconds later Eret realised his mistake, chuckling politely to himself as he retracted his hand and moved the sunglasses down to cover his eyes. “Oh right, I apologise. I must express my sympathy for your whole situation.” George just stood silent, the male making a disagreeable feeling well up in his stomach. 

Techno broke the silence next; “I’ll see you tomorrow and we can finish our discussion then.” Eret nodded, walking out the door with a secretive wink to George who could only watch the man leave in frozen confusion. Once George was sure Eret was out of hearing range he whispered under his breath mockingly; “why the hell does he wear sunglasses inside?” Wilbur chuckled jovially at the comment. 

George moved to follow Techno and Wilbur onto the sofas, ending up sitting directly opposite Techno much to his discomfort. He aimed to just stare at his feet, which he remembered were embarrassingly exposed, before Techno cleared his throat as to gain his attention. George immediately looked up into the dark orbs of Techno’s eyes, having to eventually break eye contact to remind himself to breath. “As you must remember, George, I mentioned we were trying to find reason as to how your body rejected the infection.” He began, his tone easy and laced with a quiet confidence. “I must now ask whether you will help us, playing arguably the most vital role in finding a cure.” 

George blinked, brain void of thoughts. “If you don’t want to you can go, we’ll give you some supplies of course. Maybe you could even find your previous companions… Despite how they left you.” George’s mouth turned sour. If the reality were different, he would’ve jumped at the even the slightest chance to reunite with Dream and Sapnap. But the warmth their names would usually console him with had turned cold and empty, they had left him to die and proved their own words to be lies.

Wilbur spoke next, voice filled with conviction and a level of passion he had not yet heard from the tall male. “You could save thousands of lives, George, millions even.” The colourblind boy adjusted his position on the sofa as Wilbur and Techno awaited his reply calmly. 

“Okay,” George said, his voice vacant of emotion. “I’ll help you.” Wilbur smiled in almost relief, clapping his hands enthusiastically together whilst Techno just nodded in a silent show of agreeable acceptance at his decision.

This would be his home now, George realised. A bittersweet feeling shook him as his brain comprehended his decision, it signified his letting go of all explicit hope and embracement of the realisation that he had created his own heartbreak through expectation. Though, what George failed to acknowledge was, in the deepest part of his soul that held dying embers of hope, there remained a near impossible chance of reignition. His heart still irretrievably longed for the endearing black haired boy and the blonde who had showed him an enchanting ocean of hope in the faded world he lived in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> George is simply built different lmao 
> 
> Anywayz hope there weren’t any mistakes, I can’t bear to reread all 4k again ;-;
> 
> Comments are appreciated, have a great day/night <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot moves on........ Exciting stuff! Enjoy :)

“You know what, maybe we should’ve just stayed in the bunker.” Sapnap said sarcastically as he followed behind the taller blonde, descending deeper along the cramped stone lined passageway. Water dripped down from the cement ceiling, feeding into a little stream that ran alongside their feet that reflected the torchlight harshly.

It was unbearably humid, sweat dripped down their foreheads in large beads. Their hushed breathing was slightly laboured and growing louder with each minute. Regardless, they trudged on with heavy steps, determination fuelling their muscles and hope fuelling their minds. 

“Shut up Sapnap.” Dream muttered frustratedly; his patience was near non-existent from Sapnap’s intermittent snide comments that only added to his irritation. He just wanted to get out of this claustrophobic tunnel and feel the fresh air against his skin again.

Without Bad’s words they would’ve been clueless as to where the large pristine building had resided (the one where Dream had spotted Techno standing on the balcony of). Neither Dream nor Sapnap could remember the directions back to where George had been taken from them – ‘Downtown Manhattan’ was their only clue. As a result, immediately after being released from Bad’s compound the pair had looked along the hallway for the passageway marked for the Statue of Liberty which, as Dream had found out from a map he’d studied in the compound, resided just off the shore of Downtown Manhattan. 

That was where Techno’s base was. And, by extension, hopefully where George could be found.

They’d left with nothing but their weapons and the clothes on their back, the pair already immensely regretting leaving so hurriedly without asking for at least some food or water. But George needed to be found as soon as possible, their minds countered - a fact that had clouded their reason when they’d rebelliously left in such a hurry. At least they’d been smart enough to bring a torch otherwise they would’ve been walking in complete darkness with only faith to guide them through the inhospitable passages. 

The silence created from the blonde’s scornful tone lasted only a few moments, Sapnap already having thought of another way to cure his boredom. “Hey Dream, let’s play eye spy.” Sapnap started, an accent of playfulness in his voice. Dream sighed, a headache had begun to develop, his head throbbing profusely. 

“Fine.”

“I’m thinking of a word beginning with c, go on, guess.” Sapnap said excitedly, quietening down to allow Dream some time to think. Dream’s green eyes drifted around the confined surroundings with an uncaring gaze. He had already figured the word out but didn’t want to break the precious silence created. And so, for the next few minutes of steady plodding, Dream feigned ignorance to the answer, secretly relaxing in the few moments of blissful quiet. His peace was broken however with the realisation there was light ahead. He turned off his torch to assure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, but sure enough there lay the faint rays of the moonlight’s faded glow.

“Light, Sapnap!” Dream began, raising his hand to point ahead of him at the faded shine of the pale moonlight spewing into the shadowy depths of the tunnel. The tallest’s pace began to build in a mix of relief and unexplainable excitement. 

“Dream you’re so silly, I said the word began with a ‘c’ not an ‘l’!” Sapnap shouted at the blonde, his tone shared Dream’s excitement despite attempting to sound disappointed at Dream’s lack of participation in his games. Nonetheless the black haired boy started jogging to catch up with his friend, a smile etched wide on his face.

Eventually the pair reached the light at the end of the tunnel, literally, erupting out of the darkness in a full pelt sprint. Shoes met cement mixed with overgrown weeds that sprung from the cracks, the air was a refreshing cold splash of water. Seemingly the tunnel had ended in a dried-out river basin. Their dark brown and green eyes immediately looked up to the star studded black skies, meeting the pure white of the moon in delight – they were free from the oppressive cement coffin. 

Their joy was shattered when they abruptly turned their heads to the side, ears picking up the dreadful groans that came from the left of the pair.

A case of going out of the frying pan into the fire.

“Shit.” Sapnap whispered, words being lost to the wind as he began running in the opposite direction of the groans, trusting Dream to follow suit. They didn’t dare to look back, not wanting to witness those things nauseating existence. With a quiet yet efficient pace they made their way up the incline of the river basin, assuring they didn’t further alert those things to their movements. Quickly they gained their distance from the things, relief flooding their veins when they noticed they hadn't picked up on their movements. They were now one sizeable step closer to George, not even those things could dim the bright hope that was further sparked by that thought. 

Upon getting out of the cement channel, they began along the road that ran parallel. In the unlit surroundings they scoured the landmarks, keeping a careful eye out as to see if they could recognise anything from their arrival in the city. They dared not to turn on the torchlight as to not arouse attention from people or those things – even after all these years they had no clue if the latter could even see or not, something they’d rather not find out the hard way. And after the ordeal of two weeks ago they would rather avoid any further human interaction at all costs. Hours dragged on as they relentlessly walked through what they logically assumed to be the streets of Downtown Manhattan, impatience beginning to set in. The soles of their feet were panging with pain from the constant pace and occasionally their eyes would grow weary in exhaustion but the buzzing of their minds from adrenaline blocked the aching feeling. 

Finally, along an unsuspecting street they struck gold. 

“Holy fucking shit.” Sapnap breathed with a large grin growing on his face, eyes turning to his companion with an unbridled expression of delight and unexplainable relief. Dream was fixated upon the regal building directly ahead of the pair, green eyes almost luminous amongst the shadowy surroundings.

“We found it.”

The pair stood frozen at the end of the street, the street that they had found themselves travelling along two weeks ago. The street where Dream’s nightmare had become a reality. Ahead lay the conspicuous palace that had plagued the blonde’s worst thoughts and imaginings, the building where George was probably held captive. Or dead, the darkest parts of Dream's mind supplied. Its’ gleaming pristine stone walls contrasted with the decomposed encompassing buildings, a beacon of confident splendour and arrogance amongst the icy world it stood in defiance of. Just as Dream had remembered it from that traumatic day two weeks ago.

Sapnap began forward, katana grasped between his two hands in an aggressive stance. “Let’s get those fuckers-“

“Wait. Sapnap.” Dream paused, raising his arm out to stop the younger in a moment of clarity. “What are we doing?”

The younger cocked an eyebrow in dubiety, throwing an absurd look to the taller male. “What do you mean ‘what are we doing?' We’re going to find George.” Dream shook his head fervently, eyes focused on the ground in front of him as his mind whirled with thoughts. 

“We’re so dumb. What is our plan?”

“Uh…” Sapnap trailed off hesitantly, “To get George back from those weirdos?”

“No, no, I mean how the hell are we going to get him back? They already outnumber us and that might’ve not even been all their men.” 

“I don’t know.” Sapnap said dumbly, placing his katana back in its sheath in uncomfortable silence. He walked closer towards Dream who now leaned against the wall of the closest tall building in heavy thought. 

Sapnap was embarrassingly stumped. Dream was right, how would they retrieve George without at least one of them preferably not dying? 

“We just have to think of a plan, right?” He suggested unhelpfully to the blonde. The latter didn’t even bother replying, evergreen eyes squinting at the ground like it held the details of some masterful plan to find George safe and sound. Sapnap absolved himself to clumsily adjust his white bandana that had become loose around his head, his body too drained to even try attempt to formulate a plan.

A few minutes of annoying infirmity later Dream looked up from the tarmac to lock eyes with the fatigued black haired boy. He had a smile that exerted quiet confidence, something that excited the shorter boy. “Yes! That’s the look I like to see, go on tell me.” Dream chuckled half heartedly at Sapnap’s enthusiasm. 

“It’s not a very exciting one, but it’s the best idea I’ve got,” his smile turned more humble as he continued. “We find the exits, all of them, from this place.” Dream motioned his hand in reference to the immaculate building ahead of them. “We then wait, wait until as many people we can hope for leave-“

“So then when we go in we’ll have less people to worry about!” Sapnap interrupted eagerly, clapping his hand on Dream's shoulder in appreciation and encouragement. Dream nodded at his friend’s conclusion. 

“Precisely. Time to enact step one; find the exits. You go left, I’ll go right, we’ll meet up round the back.” The blonde paused, throwing a bittersweet weary smile to the younger. He severely disliked the idea of splitting up, but it was inarguably the most efficient way. Plus Sapnap was no idiot - he could obviously handle himself. “Be safe.” Sapnap saluted Dream dramatically before running sneakily towards the left side of the building, his hand securely resting on the hilt of his katana. Dream made a mental note for the need to find Sapnap a gun - you should never take a knife to a gun fight.

Dream then began his scouting around the building’s right side, hands holding his shotgun tightly in apprehension and as a way to ground his tired mind. His eyes scanned the buildings walls meticulously and noticed a dozen or so security cameras, quietly hoping Sapnap was diligent enough to notice them too. Warily he counted only a couple of exits, most of them looking disused as they were decorated in a layer of gorgeous sweeping vines that somehow only added to the building’s regal beauty. 

Once he met back up with Sapnap around the back of the building the black haired male reported the same as Dream, leading them to the conclusion that the main entrance was the one in primary usage. They tiredly resigned themselves to return together to the front of the building and enter a nearby skyscraper, one with clear visibility of the palace like building. Half-heartedly they secured the second floor of the building, blocking the doors to the room they’d chosen best suitable for their stake out. The cover of night was fading as the rising sun of dawn dispelled the gloom slowly. It had been a long night.

“You sleep. I’ll keep watch.” 

“You sure?” Sapnap yawned, eyes already closed as he rested his head on the laminated floor. Dream just nodded despite the younger obviously being already asleep, a small fond smile settling on his face as he turned to watch the main entrance of Techno’s palace from the window. He rested his head against the glass of the floor to ceiling window, positive he wouldn’t be spotted from the ground due to the sun’s reflection from the East and the general unsuspecting nature of the decayed building they had chosen. 

“It’s going to be a long day.” Dream muttered himself in tired acceptance, his mind supplying him with thoughts of George and their reunion as his green eyes watched on. Thoughtlessly his hands met the plastic glasses that sat still attached to his shirt, lazily playing with them as his mind drifted elsewhere.

—

A long day turned into two long days with no progress. The pair took turns to keep watch with the other either sleeping or looking for supplies – the most successful they had found themselves was when Sapnap scavenged a can of soup from the cellar of the building they were currently using as their makeshift hideout. Hungrily they had wolfed down the soup, only momentarily quelling their constant pang of hunger that burned from their stomach. 

So far there had been no activity from the building, whilst this was frustrating it wasn’t completely useless in supplying information. As suspected, Techno’s little group must’ve been well supplied, as concluded by the fact they were able to stay inside their base for days on end without the need to find further food or water. Whilst it couldn’t be confirmed, it could also be assumed that they had electricity (unless the security cameras were purely for show and to scare off attempting intruders) and alongside this, running water. 

In conclusion, Bad was right to be wary of this group as they were both well stocked and dangerously strong. They were a force to be scared of, a force Dream and Sapnap were going to reckon with regardless. 

Finally, the pair were properly rewarded on the morning of the third day. In the darkness of the pre-dawn world there was the echoing sound of the large wooden doors of the main entrance creaking open. Dream scrambled up from his sitting position as to gain a clearer view of the events occurring, awaking Sapnap from his fitful sleep in the process. Dream silenced the groggy Sapnap with a harsh hush before he even had the chance to even open his mouth to question what was happening.

The shadow of the dying night slightly obscured the person who stood at the doors to the entrance. All Dream could discern from this distance was the dark mop of hair atop his head and his tall physique, his face wasn’t visible as he appeared to be welcomed into the building. The distinct lack of weapons also confused the pair – how could someone traverse the sunless streets with nothing to defend themselves? It didn’t make sense.

As the great doors shut behind the elusive stranger the pair looked to each other in puzzlement before sitting beside each other to keep watch in case any other events unfolded. Only several hours later did Techno’s palace awaken itself with activity again.

By now the sun had risen to cast an ethereal orange glow upon the concrete jungle. The radiant rays of light cast disorienting rays into their eyes whilst also providing a degree of cover from the reflections of the glass. Darkness had receded for the birth of daylight, allowing the pair a functional view of Techno’s compound. In the fresh forenoon air, the creaking sound of the doors echoed again - just as they had done earlier. 

The same person from before appeared to reveal himself to the outside world again, talking casually to a person obscured by the grand doors, his voice indiscernible due to the distance. Dream and Sapnap pressed their faces against the glass, eyes focused on the tall man’s figure with obsessive concentration. After a few moments the mysterious person turned to leave, throwing a casual wave to the unknown person within the compound before turning around. 

An unstoppable airy gasp left Dream’s mouth as the man’s face was revealed to them, his breath fogging up the glass slightly. 

“What the fuck.” Sapnap whispered in shock from his place beside Dream, face now withdrawn from its position close to the glass to recollect his thoughts, dark brown eyes wide. The blonde hurriedly wiped down the glass with his hand, removing the condensation from his breath clumsily as he kept watch of the male. 

“Eret.” Dream uttered breathlessly as he watched helpless as the tall man disappeared into the crowd of surrounding skyscrapers. He had been instantly recognisable as soon as those dark sunglasses had come into view, sending a thunderbolt of revelation through the blonde’s veins. Once Eret was gone from sight, Dream quietly shuffled away from the window, eyes wide alike Sapnap’s in horrified bewilderment. Sapnap looked to Dream, his brain composing itself in the aftershock. “What does this mean?” The black haired boy asked to the air, voice trailing off in painful uncertainty. 

“Nothing good.” Was all Dream could whisper.

—

“George, ever driven in a car?” 

George looked up to Techno in unconcealed confusion, his brain still muddled and conflicted from his decision to stay. Techno chuckled at the shortest boy’s slowness causing an self-conscious frown to form on his face. He felt like some kind of ignorant child in the presence of Techno. “… I don’t think so?” He managed to say, his brown eyes moving from Techno to meet Wilbur’s openly excited form who was grinning at Techno’s implied suggestion.

“How about we all go for a little drive?” The curly haired male said, moving to help pull George up from the sofa with an encouraging smile. The colourblind boy shook his head as he stood to the side of Wilbur, clearing his foggy and muddled brain and focusing on his words - he didn’t want to dwell on the past anymore. He wanted to move on with his life. Shit happens. 

“Sure.”

Wilbur nodded impatiently, already moving to exit the room. “I’ll meet you two out front, let me go get Tommy and Tubbo!” Wilbur called as he was already half out the door. Techno began moving more languidly to follow Wilbur's movements as George just stood anxiously in the same spot, uncomfortable at the fact he was being left alone with the intimidating male. Techno turned to George with a private smile.

“I hope you're enjoying your new beginning here.” George blinked before forcefully relaxing his body.

“Thank you.”

Techno shook his head, the reserved smile now turning more kind. “The pleasure’s all mine.” He hummed. The taller male then motioned for George to follow him before he swept gracefully out of the room. George stared for a few moments before rushing to follow, a small smile unknowingly forming on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to hear your thoughts on what's going on, comments are greatly appreciated :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING (TW); Mention of needles/ syringes in this chapter.

“Dream, get the fuck over here!” Sapnap hissed. The half-asleep blonde was leaning upright against the far wall, the opposite side of the room from where the younger was positioned in front of the windows. “Dream.” Sapnap repeated, in a harsher tone. The venom in Sapnap’s voice immediately awoke the blonde, causing him to scramble to Sapnap's side in a mix of intrigue and disorientation. 

“What?“ 

Sapnap shut up the dazed blonde with a forceful point towards the noticeably opened door of Techno’s base. Green eyes squinted to look closer, recognising the striding figure of-

“Techno.” Dream whispered, his voice quiet and concentrated. Anger flooded his thoughts as he was instantly reminded of the emotions from that day two weeks ago, leaving him to mutely watch on as another three people revealed themselves to the open air. 

His brain assuredly recognised the forms of Wilbur and Tommy – the former being remembered as an unnervingly nice psycho and the latter as the weird kid who seemingly appeared out of thin air to knock George out cold. However, the fourth person to exit the building was an anomaly, looking to be around the same age as Tommy but rather with brown hair and a slightly shorter stature. The new person’s identity didn’t matter - all that mattered to Dream was that they were hopefully leaving the building defenceless. 

“This is what we’ve been waiting for.” Dream whispered zealously to Sapnap, a matching smile forming on both the boy’s faces as they locked eyes before returning to look at the scene below them. Wilbur and Techno had begun to move, weapons in hand, to the building directly to the right of their compound. This left the younger pair behind, visibly caught in an animated discussion with the Tommy kid laughing heartily at what seemed to be the shorter brown haired boy’s expense. 

Despite this, the unknown boy seemed uncaring to the blonde kids jesting as his attention was apparently held elsewhere, noticeably looking back into the entrance of the building which Dream noted to be still left open. 

“What is that dumb kid looking at?” Sapnap murmured impatiently beside the blonde. Dream just shrugged his shoulders uselessly in reply, assuming that whoever the unknown kid was looking and now speaking to would be revealed soon enough. As per usual, Dream was correct. Their patience was rewarded as moments later the other person began walking out of the grand wooden doors.

Dream’s breath hitched. 

The blonde was cocooned in a haze of insensibility, blurred around their existences, utterly consumed. Against all logic, sense and odds there seemed to be a dawn at the end of this dark night he had endured for so long. In that moment the world, in all its’ tainted glory, seemed impossibly loveable. 

“George.”

—

“Come on George!” Tubbo called cheerily from outside, beckoning him to follow with a high-spirited smile. George’s step stuttered as his brain thundered with reminders that this would be his first time outside without his old friends by his side. So much had changed in what felt like so little time. Nonetheless he continued his stride, revealing himself to the sun’s lazy morning gaze. 

A relieved breath escaped his lips as he was rewarded with the crisp feeling of a breeze on his skin. His anxieties instantly dispelled into the back of his mind.

Techno and Wilbur had vanished from sight, assumingly to bring the car from wherever they were storing it. George still hadn’t rapped his head around the fact that these people somehow managed to maintain such an overt compound alongside a vehicle. These people had somehow managed to laugh in the face of George’s old lifestyle, genuinely thriving in the decomposing world around them. Caught in his mind’s ramblings, he suddenly noticed Tubbo who was waving his hands humorously in front of the elder’s face. “You good dude?”

George coughed awkwardly to disguise his fleeting bewilderment. “Yeah, sorry, what were you saying?” 

Tubbo pointedly ignored Tommy’s dramatic eyeroll to reply to the older boy. “I was just wondering whether you wanted to start the second Harry Potter book when we get back, you looked like you enjoyed the first one.” 

Tommy scoffed from the side, swaggering closer to the pair to insert himself into the conversation. “Those books are for kids.” 

George’s mouth contorted into a wry smile. “But Tommy, you ARE a kid.” George stated, tone condescendingly mocking. With a childlike expression of irritation Tommy pointed accusingly to the shorter, older male. 

“So are you!” Tommy tried to counter flippantly.

“Nope, I’m 20.” The wry smile remained on George’s mouth as Tommy aggravatedly backed away from the verbal fight, crossing his arms in defeat and muttering indignantly; ‘well you look like a kid’.

“Tommy’s just mad he couldn’t even finish the first book. He’s tried twice.” Tubbo whispered to George playfully after returning from closing and locking the large doors of the entrance with a forceful clang. The older chuckled, he’d already grown fond of these two dumb kids. The trio’s attention was then abruptly taken by the small roar of what George figured to be a car, the vehicle in question swiftly coming into view to his excitement. 

“Get in losers.” Techno said with a smirk, calling from the driver’s side of the car which had stopped before the younger boys. The vehicle in question was evidently worn and obviously battered but this didn't deter George's excitement any less. Here, in front of him, was a functioning car - something unlikely to be seen by many in their whole lifetimes in this dilapidated world. George followed Tommy and Tubbo’s example, sliding into the backseats of the car swiftly. The floor of the car had three rifles tucked under the front two seats. Wilbur noticed George’s confusion from the front passenger seat. 

“This, unfortunately, brings a lot of unwanted attention.” Wilbur began, patting the inside roof of the car fondly. “Its best if we all have weapons, in case for whatever reason you get stranded without me or Techno to defend you. You’re obviously very important.” Wilbur chuckled. 

George internally frowned. He selfishly hoped his importance stemmed beyond his body’s apparent ability to ward of the infection of the zombies. The hard clap of a hand on his back swung him back into reality, the owner of the offending hand being the grinning blonde boy beside him. 

“You ready George?”

“Sure.” 

Roaring, the car jolted into motion, jostling the inhabitants of the car sharply as it skidded out of view of the compound George had started to call his home. His dark brown eyes went wide as his hand gripped the seat in apprehension. A rush of adrenaline began to overtake him, allowing him to slowly remove his ruthless grip and begin to enjoy the ride. The blonde beside him was clearly highly amused by George’s agitated reaction.

“Where we going big man Techno?” Tommy cackled, voice barely audible, drowned out by the deafening sounds of the car tearing through the city streets. 

—

George arrived back at the compound many hours later, both mentally and physically drained. Apparently going for a ‘drive’ meant going on a tour of the city’s most famous landmarks. They’d unavoidably run into a few herds of zombies along their journey due to the car’s stark rumble in the otherwise silent city. However, the zombies appeared to be merely child’s play to the group with Wilbur easily gunning down herds that blocked their path as Techno drove. 

The colour blind boy slumped back onto the sofas in what he’d dubbed the ‘living room’, the stacks of shelves around him providing a familiar and safe atmosphere he could relax in. He wished to sink deeper into the velvet soft cushions and to never return. 

“I suppose we went too hard on you for your first time outside after so long.” Techno pondered aloud to the room, receiving a noise of agreement from Wilbur who was scanning the shelf with a vague interest beside him. Tommy and Tubbo sat opposite George, still somehow fuelled to the brim with exuberant energy. 

“Did ya enjoy it, Gogy?” Tommy said, laughing at the nickname he’d begun to call the older since the group had arrived back at the compound. George was too tired to care or acknowledge the stupid name. 

“Yeah it was good.” Was all he replied, brown eyes staring blankly at the whitewashed ceiling. While the trip had been exhausting, he had been exposed to some magnificent feats of mankind, his favourite being the decrepit Statue of Liberty that stood proudly out in the grey harbour waters of lower Manhattan. The tattered statue was decorated with hanging vines and moss, Techno had explained how it used to bring tourists from across the world to see the symbolic effigy. Before the apocalypse happened, of course. 

Upon the attention of the room moving from him, George’s mind drifted in its weary state. Vacantly his brain contemplated the light stinging from his wounded right hand, noting that the effects of the pills must’ve worn of, before eventually reaching thoughts of that ocean from all those years ago. For some exasperating reason his mind would always drift to that view. It had been so arresting, perhaps his heart seemed to miss the view. And perhaps also the person who had showed it to him. Bitterness suddenly overtook those thoughts, corrupting them and leaving an acidic taste on his tongue. That person had left him to die alone. He needed to move on.

“You ever wonder what you’d do or where you’d be if these zombies never existed?” George remarked aloud to distract himself from his embittered thoughts. The question cut off Tubbo mid-sentence as he had been speaking to Tommy about some menial matter. George noticed Techno and Wilbur had disappeared somewhere in between his own mind’s wandering. 

“I think I’d own a bee sanctuary.” The younger brown haired boy said without hesitation. 

George quirked an eyebrow at the unusual answer. “Can I ask why?”

Tubbo shrugged noncommittedly, giving George a small but sincere smile. “I just think bees are pretty cool. You?”

“I think living along the coast would be pretty cool.” 

Tommy let out an unidentifiable sound of confusion. “Wouldn’t it be, like, all ugly- colourblindness and all?” The kid started before the elder boy interrupted.

“Blue is my favourite colour; I see it fine.” 

“Well all your ideas are shit.” Tommy declared crudely. “I personally would be living in my own personal mansion, this place would do, with my many women.” George rolled his eyes, letting out a mocking chuckle.

“Whatever you say Tommy.” Tubbo replied, taking no notice of Tommy’s serious tone. 

“George, will you come with me please?” The strong, controlled voice of Techno prevented him from mocking Tommy further. The man in question had reappeared from behind the door at the end of the room, standing patiently as George hurried to get up and follow him out into the noticeably colder hallway. Techno could be a man of few words, something he appreciated in this moment as his head spun slightly from getting up too quickly. The constant small twinge of pain from his hand felt amplified compared to only moments before, causing him to stare down at the bandage in frustration. 

“We’ll be taking a few blood tests today.” Techno said, not bothering to turn his head to address the brown haired boy. George’s attention was now taken away from his haunting wound. 

“Okay.” George replied awkwardly – resigning himself to silence in both tiredness and to avoid Techno's intimidating attention.

Eventually Techno turned into an unsuspecting room, housing a glossy wooden table with a few vials and syringe needles set out atop of it. 

“Sit, please. Put your right hand on the table.” George did what was asked without complaint. He efficiently placed himself down upon the, frankly uncomfortable, chair that had been clearly set out for him and revealed his right hand’s wrist out for inspection. Techno pulled out a pair of blue rubber gloves that smelled of what George vaguely remembered being disinfectant. 

“Scared of needles?” George shook his head. “Good.” Techno chuckled mutedly, moving to pick up the nearest syringe with practised grace. With the needle in hand Techno looked rather menacing, his dark eyes boring into his right arm with concentration. Without warning the syringe was plunged into his arm, causing George to bite his tongue in surprise and discomfort. Techno repeated this process half a dozen times, taking a small syringeful of George’s blood and dispensing it into each of the six respective vials meticulously.

“What will you do with this stuff?” George asked as Techno finished moving the sixth syringeful of blood into a vial. The older man gave a smirk.

“I was worried you’d never ask. Can I check this?” Techno said, referring to his bandaged wound. George nodded in consent. As the older male undressed the white fabric from around the bite he began to fully answer. “Unfortunately for us we have no chance of achieving herd immunity as a species, everyone is evidently susceptible to the infection." Techno paused, as if he was momentarily lost in thought. "Everyone but you.” George bit his lip as Techno removed part of the bandage that tugged slightly on the bite, causing a sharp sting of pain to run through his body. Techno continued unapologetically, if he saw George’s pained look, he didn’t bother to acknowledge it. 

“We also don’t have the luxury of proper equipment or mass testing to see what makes you so special – and unfortunately the overwhelming majority prefer not to be bitten by a zombie – even in the name of science.” Techno said darkly, eyes momentarily meeting with George’s. “That’s, however, where you come in. Our goal is to find out whether your immunity is transferable to others, as I mentioned previously, you could provide a ‘cure’ of sorts.” George nodded, brain admittedly finding it hard to comprehend how he was somehow a possible source for something as important as a ‘cure’. 

“We’ll be doing our first trials tomorrow - if everything goes to plan.” 

By now the bite had been revealed to the open air, leaving it vulnerable to the inspection of both Techno and George’s eyes. The latter had purposefully avoided any eye contact with the wound, even when Wilbur came to clean and replace the bandage daily. Even the thought of seeing the wound made him feel nauseous with anxiety. 

But there it was, in all its gruesome glory. The source of all this turbulence in his little world. 

The thing that had made his friends abandon him. 

Black flakes of dried blood surrounded the bite despite it having been routinely cleaned by Wilbur. It looked exactly like someone had tried to cut out a chunk of his hand but using their teeth rather than a knife, the bite marks remaining distinguishable despite the event occurring over a fortnight ago. To George the raw skin appeared almost grey, leading him to guess it probably appeared bright red to anyone else. It would leave him with an ugly scar, if it ever healed of course.

“Hm,” Techno hummed to himself. 

“Any idea why it isn’t healing?” George said with a hint of hopefulness and curiosity.

“No clue. You’re alive, that’s all that matters.” George exhaled heavily, inwardly disappointed by Techno’s reply.

“Hello boys!” Wilbur announced himself to the room with his usual wide smile and large swaggering steps, automatically uplifting the rooms’ air. George nodded in greeting while Techno moved to the side, allowing Wilbur to stand where he had been. Upon further inspection, Wilbur had brought along his usual set of cleaning supplies clutched between his hands. 

Techno turned to directly address Wilbur. “Is it all ready for tonight?” Wilbur beamed. George was positively confused but assumed he would be filled in once he needed to be – he had no reason not to trust these people to do what was best. They had graciously welcomed him into their home with no restraint, something he couldn’t underestimate.

“Yep, Eret’s got it all set up for us.” Wilbur replied, beginning the process with a quiet whistle as he got to work, tentatively cleaning the bite.

“Perfect.” Techno spoke before leaving the room with the flourish of a king, vials of George’s blood grasped preciously in his hands.

“He’s so dramatic.” Wilbur sighed, getting a small, curt laugh out of George who was keen to be distracted from his slightly nauseous state. “Anyways. It’s been a long day, you want to go to bed? Tubbo’s put that book you wanted in your room already.” 

George nodded. He was ready for this day to be over. 

—

Nightfall had begun, casting a bright explosion of warm colour upon the normally drab skies of the city.

“I can’t believe it.” Sapnap remarked in incredulity, still shell shocked after watching George leave and return a few hours later; safe, sound and alive. “Why is he friends with those psychos? How is he even alive?” The younger boy spewed, hands running through his raven hair and tugging at his white bandana in perturbation. He turned to the blonde for steady assurance. “What is going on?”

“It’s going to be okay.” Dream breathed. A heartening smile grew upon his freckled face as his green eyes remained fixed on the stab of crimson, golden glow that stretched across the Western skies. “He’s alive - that’s all that matters.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is around 3k words - hope you enjoyed!
> 
> So, Dream and Sapnap now know George is alive... That's pretty POG I guess lol
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated, have a great day/ night <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so fun to write! Enjoy reading :)

It was twilight when they were awoken from their fragile sleep to an unknown noise. Admittedly Sapnap was meant to have been keeping watch but his tumultuous emotions from seeing George alive had left him drained and unable to stay awake. “What’s out there?” Dream whispered in the foreboding gloom. The blonde carefully moved to gain a better view out the window, squinting into the low light, eyes not yet adjusted.

“Are those people?” A parade of six people walking in a line were making their way to the front entrance of Techno’s compound, none of them were distinctly recognisable in the shadows of the moon. Their slow yet steady footfall made small clacking noises as their feet met the hard concrete and tarmac of the outside floor. 

To the side of the parade of six, another two figures seemed to be leading them, motioning them along with a gun in their hands. One of the ‘leaders’ seemed to have a blonde mop of hair, the other a balaclava that completely disguised their identity – the specific features of their face were hidden in the shadows of the night. “Hostages?” Sapnap continued to question in a hushed voice. 

“What need could they have for hostages?” Dream counterquestioned, shifting even closer to the window in discontent and intrigue. Sapnap just shrugged, he was just as clueless as Dream. 

Once the slow moving parade reached the entrance, the ‘leaders’ knocked on the door. Promptly someone on the inside opened it, pulling the large, creaking door open efficiently. They seemed to exchange some words before the six in a line were pushed inside, leaving the two 'leaders' outside to walk quickly away from the scene. 

“What’s going on?” Dream said to himself, words fogging up the glass. 

—

Fruitless days passed on for the pair as they awaited another opportunity for their friend to be left unguarded in the compound. They continued to follow the now routine watch schedule and were lucky in their yields from scavenging missions. It could probably be down to the deterrence for people to search the area due it its’ close proximity to Techno’s base which obviously had a dangerous reputation - as learnt from Bad's words of warning. The uneventfulness would end, however, on the fifth night since their sighting of George. 

It was a largely quiet night, no things were around so there was a distinct lack of groaning in the area. Sapnap had pulled out a deck of cards he’d found the day before, shuffling them so they were ready to be played. Dream sat beside the black haired boy, patiently waiting whilst tightly retying his shoe laces with practiced efficiency. Peace was broken when the crack of the now sickly familiar doors to the compound resounded into the dark street, alerting the pair to a new development in the streets below their vantage point. Leisurely the pair turned their heads to check if anything worth watching was occurring. 

“Fucking ‘ell it’s heavy.” A voice commented with an uncaring loudness. The voice’s owner had stark blonde hair that stuck out even in the limited light. Tommy. Speedily Tommy’s words had been hushed by another, someone Dream recognised to be the unknown brown haired boy from when they’d seen George again. 

Dream moved to turn around and ignore the exchange but before he was able to do so his eyes caught sight of the thing the two boys were heaving between them. Whatever the thing they were hauling along was, it had been wrapped in a thick black plastic bag and was an uncomfortably disturbing shape. Dream's attention had been unfortunately recaptured.

“What the fuck are they carrying?” Sapnap exclaimed in hushed disbelief. “That’s not a fucking body is it?” 

Dream’s blood ran cold. Dreaded, icy cold.

“Just put it here. Zombies will find it easily before morning, I reckon.” The brown haired kid said, motioning to the pavement of the street that was directly next to the building Dream and Sapnap had stationed themselves in. 

“They fuckin’ better. Techno will murder if he sees this shit is still visible by tomorrow.” With that, the younger pair left the ‘package’ on the side of the pavement, walking with a disgusted haste back to the compound’s entrance. The door slammed shut, sending the street back into its’ unilluminated silence.

“We have to go down there.” Dream said with an attempted emotionless tone. In reality it came out hurried and embalmed in distraught.

“Dream, we can’t. You heard them those things- zombies- will be there soon.” Sapnap tried to reason despite his voice being tinged in distress alike his companion’s. Dream paused at Sapnap’s words, desperate green eyes remaining vibrant even in the unrelenting darkness. 

“But what if it’s George.”

Any words of rationality died on Sapnap’s tongue as his mind ran blank. A glacial stillness overcame him, the morbid possibility momentarily possessing Sapnap and rendering him helpless to his emotions. The grieving tone of Dream’s words cut deeply into his soul. If they were to be found true, they would surely send him into a state of unending sorrow that not even a thousand lifetimes could heal. It couldn’t be George. But if it was, they needed to know regardless of the agonizing despair it would cause them. “Okay.” 

Wordlessly the raven haired male followed the blonde as he picked up his shotgun. The katana felt especially heavy in Sapnap’s tightened grip, his mind focused purely on the steps of his feet as to upkeep his sanity. Down the steps they descended, the quietness ringing in their ears and creating a deafening atmosphere of dread. Once they’d reached the empty street, the pair stood immobile on the pavement. The full, pale moonlight above shone an unholy glow upon the pair as they were revealed to face the nauseating sight of the indiscernible ‘package’.

“Got your knives?” Sapnap whispered, as if he was worried loud words would awaken the 'thing' before them. Dream nodded, moving forward with a defined reluctance after giving Sapnap his shotgun to hold. 

The closer the blonde got to the ‘package’, the more distinguishable the shape became. It had to be a body, that was now an unavoidable fact. The feet and head shape were obvious even from under the thick plastic it was wrapped in. Dream felt like he could puke. “Dream, it won’t be him.” Sapnap tried to reassure with a calming tone from his position a few meters away. Dream tried to absorb the words, but the back of his mind still screamed that the possibility remained even if he had seen George healthy less than a week ago. 

“Okay, I’m gonna do it.” Dream uttered once he was crouching in front of the body, knife shaking in his hands as he moved to cut the plastic that covered the face of the body. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” He repeated as a terrified mantra while the sharp metal easily sliced open the plastic, revealing the identity of the corpse below him. A gruesome relief spread through his veins. 

“It’s not George.”

“Thank fuck!” Sapnap breathed out heavily from behind, coming up to stand next to Dream who remained in his crouching position. Dream continued to cut open the plastic wrapping, looking for a bite. Evidently this person hadn’t turned yet from any infection, leaving a question hanging coldly in the air. Why were they dead?

Sapnap’s eyes reached the face of the deceased person, a weird spike of vague recognition hitting him like a train. “Dream?”

“What?” The aforementioned blonde replied, only half listening to Sapnap. He was still busy scanning the corpse for the person’s cause of death, ignorant to the concerned tone in the younger’s voice. 

“I think I remember this person.”

Dream immediately stopped his actions, turning to the younger, conflicted male with unbridled confusion. “From where?”

“Bad’s bunker.” Sapnap paused before continuing. “Wasn’t this person one of Skeppy’s cronies?” Green eyes looked back to the dead person’s face and evaluated Sapnap’s observation as the latter continued. “You don’t think this was one of those brought in a few nights ago, one of the six?”

“But why…” Dream pondered aloud, mind whirring to try work out what was going on. Quickly, Dream moved to finish inspecting the body, noticing one of the sleeves of his right arm was torn off. There was no expected bite mark or life-threatening wound, only a minuscule puncture that was a result of what Dream guessed to be a needle or syringe. “There’s no bite mark, only this.” Dream added, directing Sapnap’s attention to the puncture in the body’s skin along the underside of the arm.

A distant groan from behind struck the pair like lightning, tearing them away from the body and plunging them back into reality. They whipped their heads to look back up the street to the source of the groans, instantly recognising a small herd of those things, or what Tommy had called zombies. “Let’s go.” Dream instructed, leading the way back into their temporary hideout, away from the corpse. 

Once they’d returned speedily back into the safety of their vantage point, they immediately looked out the window to where the body lay in the street. The zombies had unsurprisingly swarmed it, their groans muffled as they appeared to consume the flesh of the corpse with a repulsive haste. 

“I think we should both take the rest of the night off.” Dream suggested, stomach churning and not wanting either of them have to watch on as the zombies tore away at the abandoned corpse. Sapnap only nodded in silent agreement, for once grateful for the constant tiredness his body felt as it would mean sleep would come easy, even with those things howling outside.

“Night, Sapnap.”

“Goodnight, Dream.”

—

Morning had awoken, and so had Techno’s bunker. The bang of the heavy doors had ended the pair’s fitful sleep. “What are those fuckers up to now?” Sapnap muttered, moving his arm to cover his eyes as his head remained groggy from waking up only seconds before. Dream rolled his eyes at Sapnap’s crude words, moving to the window languidly while Sapnap remained laying on the floor. 

Dream’s green eyes scanned the scene below. “There’s Techno, Wilbur, that brown haired kid- George.” Sapnap’s interest was piqued at the mention of their companions’ name. In a rush, he moved to join Dream at the window. 

“Move your head down, Sapnap. They could still see you if they look close enough.” Sapnap huffed before lowering himself to the floor alike Dream. While the floor the ceiling windows provided great visibility to the pair it also left them vulnerable in the daylight to any wandering eyes. Dream had found that if they kept themselves lowered to the floor they would remain mostly invisible to the unsuspecting gaze.

“Why is George always with them when they go outside?” Sapnap questioned frustratedly. All they needed was for the colour blind boy to be left at least without Techno and Wilbur in the compound but of course he’d always be accompanying the psychos. All they needed was one chance, one opportunity. “It’s like they know we’re coming for him.” 

Something connected in Dream’s mind. A horrifying possibility that hadn’t occurred to the blonde had suddenly become very obvious. “Fuck.” Sapnap turned to the blonde, throwing him a look of confusion to try encourage him to explain his enlightenment. 

“Eret.” Dream said simply, as if it explained everything.

“…Go on…”

“He ratted us out.” 

Sapnap’s eyebrow quirked as his mind tried to configure what Dream meant. It took only a few more moments. “Oh shit. He knew we were leaving Bad’s place to come for George. A fucking snake.”

“It’s either that or they spotted us on those security cameras outside. I find the former more likely since they probably would’ve come for us if they’d seen us on the cameras, they could easily overpower us.” Dream moved away from the window to sigh and slap a hand onto his forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this as soon as we saw him go into Techno’s place. I’m such an idiot.”

“Dream, this is not the time to be hard on yourself. Get it together. At least this shows they don’t know our whereabouts exactly.” Sapnap sighed, lacking any patience for the blonde in his angered and betrayed state. “What do we do now? We can’t just wait for George to be left alone since that obviously has no chance of happening.”

“I guess we just go for it.”

“As in follow them?”

“I suppose so, it’s the best chance we’ve got. Perhaps we can even hope he becomes separated from them in the meantime. Then maybe we have a chance of getting to him without dying in the process.” Dream said with a tone of doubtful hope accompanied by a sad chuckle. As he had done subconsciously since they’d lost George, his hands came to fiddle with the white glasses that hung from his shirt.

A thoughtful peace developed between the two as they came to terms with Dream’s own proposal. It seemed they’d been waiting a long, painful lifetime to be reunited with George. A lot had changed, except the hope that they had maintained relentlessly. “So. Today’s the day, huh.” Sapnap muttered.

A small, longing smile sat upon Dream’s face. He looked out the window to where George was standing outside Techno’s compound, along with those psychos. Languidly, green eyes moved to meet Sapnap’s dark brown. “We could always wait longer?” The blonde submitted, allowing room for Sapnap to back out from his highly dangerous idea.

Sapnap rolled his eyes in reply. “Nah, I’m sick of waiting. Let’s get that idiot back.” 

—

“Ready for an adventure?” Techno asked the trio of Wilbur, Tubbo and George. Wilbur and Techno held their usual sleek black rifles in their hands, looking particularly menacing despite the softening glow of dawn. Tubbo had brought along a baseball bat decorated in bent nails, barbed wire and a few splatters of dried blood. “You said you had a machete, right?” Wilbur had asked George excitably prior to leaving the building. And that was how he ended up with a pristinely shiny and fatally sharp machete in his hand. A gigantic upgrade from his old, near blunt weapon. It was wonderfully lethal.

“What are we doing exactly?” Tubbo asked Techno, spinning his baseball bat playfully in his hands. George looked to his feet in boredom, he’d spent the past few days inside and just wanted to do something other than reading. So when Techno had suggested for George to come with them outside he’d jumped at the opportunity, unknowing of what going outside actually entailed. Tubbo had also joined in his excitement, alike George also bored of staying inside. Tommy however had declined with a shrug, making some excuse about wanting to finish a book. 

“Scavenging and scouting mostly.” 

George’s mind sparked, looking to Techno in confusion. “I thought those guys, what were their names? Ponk and- Punz were the scouts?”

Wilbur was the one to answer this time. “They’ve been,” he hesitated slightly before continuing, motioning with his hands as he spoke. “Busy lately, monitoring something. That’s why we’re gonna be zombie hunting today – stopping the overpopulation of those little shits.” He ended smiling at George inconspicuously. George shrugged, not caring enough in the moment to question his words further. 

Techno spoke next, beginning to walk away from the compound with a steady and purposeful pace, trusting them to follow in his stead. “We won’t be using the car, it’ll bring too much attention and I don’t feel like being overcrowded by zombies today – if that’s okay with you three.” George nodded despite not being within Techno’s view.

Like ducklings following their mother, the trio followed Techno in silence. Anticipation fuelled the adrenaline that began to pump in their veins. “I have a good feeling about today. It’s gonna be good.” Tubbo whispered to George, as if words spoken louder than a whisper would break the exhilarating tension building in the air around them. 

George looked to other brown haired boy and the exuberant smile upon his youthful face. “I hope so.” He replied, moving his attention back to the road ahead. A creeping feeling of restless apprehension was building upon him, consuming his mind and body. “I really do hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are (and have been) greatly appreciated, I love hearing feedback on my work and you all have been so nice to me :,)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I think the scene where Dream and Sapnap fear that George is the dead body is so solemnly morbid yet it really exemplifies their worst fears so perfectly. It might be my favourite bit I've written this far in the story!
> 
> Please tell me if I made any mistakes - editing my own work is so tiresome.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you arent ready for this chapter...

Cautiously they’d been following the group of four for around six miles now, keeping at least a few blocks distance just to be safe. The lemon sunlight flooded the city but failed to bring warmth to its’ inhabitants, a sign of Autumn’s fast and unwelcomed approach. With Autumn came Winter, the hardest season to survive in. It murdered with the bone chilling cold that brought hypothermia and flus that were highly fatal without the proper medicines that were proven to be a rare scavenging find.

The journey had been largely monotonous so far, only having run into less than a dozen zombies as they followed, most of which had just been stragglers from the larger herds that Techno’s group easily ploughed through. As to remain inconspicuous, Dream resorted to using only his knives to kill, the shotgun obviously being too loud despite it being a safer weapon to use due to its long-range nature. Sapnap meanwhile easily sliced through the decomposing savages with his katana he’d sharpened a few days before, feeling good to relieve his stress and tense muscles upon the gruesome creatures. 

Boredom, however, had begun to set in. There had been no opportunities to unimposingly extract George as the colour blind boy seemed to remain attached to the side of the younger brown haired boy who the pair had yet to know the name of. The kid in question held an alarming, bloodied bat covered in nails within his grip, resting it on his shoulder as he walked in a cheerful manner. “We shouldn’t underestimate that kid.” Dream uttered under his breath as he peered out from around the side of a building to watch the group stride confidently along the open road.

“But still, if he’s alone with George we have a better chance of getting past him than with Wilbur or Techno so…” Sapnap urged optimistically as they began to move forward warily to maintain their secure distance from the group ahead.

“I suppose so.” Dream replied reluctantly. As time passed it seemed to be less and less likely that George would be found left alone. They had to take any opportunity they could get. The white glasses that hung from his shirt swung slightly as he walked, reminding him of his hope to return to how life was before the city. Before all the madness.

In the last few minutes, a large chorus of groans had emerged out from the near silence, creating a terror inducing symphony. The hairs on the back of the blonde’s neck rose as a tidal wave of instinct overcame him, screaming for him to run. 

“Shit.” Sapnap’s quiet words of alarm awoke Dream from his state of formidable panic, alerting him to the developments along the street ahead. “That’s a fucking lot of them.” The black haired boy observed aloud. 

Assuredly, there before the group of four they’d been stalking, a significantly large herd of zombies had arrived. “Must be at least fifty, if not more.” Sapnap continued in near disbelief. “I’ve never seen so many.” 

Dream could only nod in shocked agreement. When people warned to stay clear of the city this is what they meant – if the pair had faced that large a herd alone they would’ve been condemned to a definitive death. Even Techno’s group ahead, with their shiny guns and plentiful experience in the city, seemed to be concerned with the size of the herd. Shouting was easily heard, even from the pairs spot a few blocks away, highlighting the panic from the four.

“This might be our chance.” Dream said beside Sapnap, watching on with quiet confidence.

Techno and Wilbur seemed to be motioning for the younger two to fall back, leaving the elders of the group to take on the herd alone. Seemingly following the shouted orders, George and the kid sprinted back down the street. They ran alarmingly close to the hiding place of Dream and Sapnap before turning into an alley where they’d assumingly been told to hide in. As soon as Techno noticed the younger pair were gone from sight, he spoke to Wilbur as they moved to hold their sleek guns in their hands securely. They were readying to open fire on the herd of macabre creatures that had begun to surround them. 

Seconds later the constant bangs of relentless gunfire rained upon the city, ripping into the ears of anyone within a five mile radius. 

“Run.” Dream ordered, already sprinting across the street to where he’d seen George and the younger brown haired boy disappear to. The pounding of their feet went unheard under the heavy gunshots that came and thundered like a deep winter hail. They crossed the street into the alleyway unnoticed amongst the bloody, chaotic scene. The pair were unable to think properly whilst the thunderous noise demolished their thoughts. The alley twisted and swerved with many corners, causing their pace to slow considerably due to their deafened minds. Large bins, miscellaneous material and debris leaned against the alley walls, decorating the confined passage with a dingy, unfeeling ambience. 

The only thought that managed to prevail in the blonde’s volatile mind as they ran was of questions about George and his whereabouts. Around another corner the pair went, preparing themselves to come face to face with their lost companion, something they’d dreamt about endlessly in the timeless and depressive state their minds had been paralysed in since their separation.

Nothing could prepare them for the real thing.

Words left them. There he stood, facing away from them. Right there. His shorter, skinny stature. His dark umber hair. Right there. 

Dream moved forwards, somehow regaining control of his body before Sapnap. He reached his hand out to George, an overwhelmed yet enraptured smile upon his face. 

—

“George, I think someone’s following us.” Tubbo had said to the older once they’d reached the alley where Techno had told them to find cover in. The words were near soundless amongst the overpowering turbulent sounds coming from Techno and Wilbur’s gunfire. Words couldn’t seem to form in George’s mouth so he simply replied with a nod and a concerned look to the younger. Tubbo seemed to have a plan when he moved to hide behind a large bin near the entrance of the alley while he motioned for George to continue with a wave of a hand. He guessed the younger would ambush the stalkers whilst George acted as the unsuspecting bait.

The cold steel of the machete seemed heavier in his left hand as he continued to move deeper into the alley, alone. 

Multiple footsteps became perceptible behind him as he increased the distance from Wilbur and Techno’s gunfire, fear seeping into his skin as he stopped in his tracks to face the intruders once he’d turned a corner. Alert, he focused on listening to the footfall as they drew closer and closer to the corner before stopping. They were behind him. 

Reality was altered fleetingly in the space around him. George stood stock still, like a movement would equate to his death. Silence burned on his skin like poison, only the echoes of piercing bullets to fill the stillness. It was like he was in the eye of a hurricane. Surrounded by ebbed nothingness, frozen in place.

“George.” The voice rang clear even under the heavy bombardment of echoed gunshots. It was painfully familiar, causing his insides to contract, burn and simultaneously run cold.

—

George turned, but too slowly to be anything but reluctant. There was desolation in his eyes, the mahogany too glossy. 

Dream took another step forward, the movement not reciprocated by the boy ahead. 

“George?” His voice repeated, trailing slowly, like his words were unwilling to take flight. Silence hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters upon the ground into barbed splinters of translucent reflections. Gunshots were smothered by the ear piercing quiet. 

“Why are you here?” George remarked apathetically. “You should be long gone by now, surely.”

Bewilderment shrouded Dream and Sapnap, rendering them both pitifully mute. Sapnap spoke next, moving to stand beside Dream with fortitude. “What are you on about? Why would we leave—“

The russet haired boy scoffed mockingly. “The city’s dangerous, we all know that by now.” George remarked sarcastically, bringing his bandaged right hand up in reference with a grim smile. “You should leave. For your own safety.” 

His words were laced with a bitter venom.

The sky had turned a nervous grey above them, no longer did the sun beam its radiance upon them, leaving a fraught atmosphere. The low pressure was almost tangible in the air.

“Listen to us, you idiot.” Sapnap appealed urgently, moving his katana out of his hands to rest against the alley wall. “You need to get out of there, Techno’s place, come with us before they get here. There’s something not right about them.” George’s façade of uncaringness was gradually being noticeably broken as his turbulent emotions became more apparent upon his face. “I don’t know what they've told you, but we’re trying to help you.” Once Sapnap finished his speech he took a harsh gulp air, emotions having taken control of him as he tried to make George understand.

“But you left me.” George said, voice tired and eyes wearily resting on the filthy floor of the alley. “Despite everything—” He chuckled sadly. “I got bit and you left me to die.”

“…What?” Dream remarked brazenly, hands gripping his shotgun with a strangling hold. “Is that what they fucking told you? You were there though; don’t you remember it?”

“I don’t remember shit from that day.” 

Sapnap and Dream paused, minds falling over George’s words with bafflement. 

“Okay—” Dream began, noticing that the rapid gunfire had quietened to be a slow trickle of bullets. Techno and Wilbur must’ve nearly finished dealing with the herd. They didn’t have much time. The blonde walked carefully to stand half a meter away from the visibly conflicted shorter male. “George, listen to me. We would never leave you, okay? Please come with us, we can try sort this shit out togeth—“

Sudden rushed footsteps became audible from behind the trio, causing them to turn around abruptly. 

The next moments registered in Dream’s brain like disorientating flashing lights. 

The brown haired kid from before had turned the corner, bat held ready to swing a hefty blow — aimed straight for Sapnap’s head. The black haired boy was defenceless, his katana left leaning on the wall a few steps too many away from him. 

Aim. Pull the trigger. 

Dream’s finger moved before his brain could catch it. Years of quick reactions and near death experiences made his instinct to protect George and Sapnap become readily practiced. 

Except this time, the pounding fire of a bullet from his shotgun came unexpected, even to him.

Blood seeped out like a revolting motif of lace. It quickly soaked the cloth covering the young boy’s abdomen like a crimson flood that even his frantic shaking hands couldn’t contain.

“Tubbo?” George breathed tightly from behind Dream. The shorter’s voice came out paltry and tinged with a disbelieving hesitation and shock. Dream wordlessly met George’s violent eyes, pupils dilated. “Dream, what did you do?”

“George— you saw he was going to—“

“He’s just a fucking kid!”

“George?” Tubbo choked out from where he had crumpled onto the floor, laying on his back with the never-ending stream of blood beginning to coat the grey cement below him. The young boy’s voice was crippled with fear, a stark contrast to his usual exuberant tone. George’s attention was immediately captured, his state of shock ending as his brain realised the magnitude of what had occurred in front of him. George pushed past Dream who tried to reach for him pathetically as he passed, skidding to sit beside Tubbo in a panic stricken frenzy. 

“I— Sapnap would’ve died.” Dream stuttered, imploring George to understand. “He was going to kill Sapnap. George please-” The blonde begged, voice cracking with his mind screaming to make sure George understood. It was self-defence. He wasn’t a heartless murderer as Techno had painted him out to be.

George had to believe him.

Sapnap had now turned to look at Dream, dark eyes wide like he too hadn’t properly come to terms with what just happened. George seemed ignorant to Dream’s words as he ripped off his shirt sleeve with the aid of his machete, using it as a makeshift rag to try stop the bleeding. 

Dream continued regardless, voice fractured with a sorrowful desperation. “George, please understand—“

“Dream. We need to go.” Sapnap started frantically, picking up his katana from the side of the alleyway and moving forward to push Dream away from the scene in a daze. Sapnap was right, the functioning part of Dream’s brain reasoned. The calls of Techno and Wilbur had become audible from nearby as they sounded George and Tubbo’s names. 

Dream gave George one last fleeting look before he began to wordlessly run after Sapnap.

—

“Tubbo? Georgieee? Are you guys good? We thought we heard a gunshot.” Wilbur’s voice rang out in a mildly concerned tone, cutting into the chilling stillness like a blazing knife. 

George was struggling to breath, panic overtaking him as he tried to call out to the older pair who were searching for them. He prayed they’d find them soon, then perhaps Tubbo would have a chance. Even if the steady stream of dark grey liquid signalled a detrimental warning for the worst. 

“Hey George,” Tubbo said weakly. George’s brown eyes gingerly looked to Tubbo’s blue in response, gaze warm with remorse. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” George choked, voice barely above a whisper. Tubbo strenuously tried to answer but ultimately failed, resigning himself to lay in silence as George applied pressure to his wound, the only sound the ragged and irregular breaths of George. The boy coughed heartily, splattering out more of that grey liquid that George guessed to be deep scarlet blood as Tubbo’s eyes sagged closed. 

“TUBBO?” The hysteric cry of Wilbur came from the corner of the alley. He moved with unfettered haste and a horrified expression plastered upon his face, helping George to put pressure on the gunshot wound. “Techno they’re here!” He cried back, voice wrought with desperation. Wilbur turned his terrified attention to George, as if to ask how this happened. George was unable to reply, words caught in his thought as his breath became more strained and shorter.

Seconds later, Techno arrived, aiding Wilbur in moving the youngest male out of the alley and into the open street. Wilbur had tied his trench coat firmly around Tubbo’s abdomen, using it as a temporary bandage that barely stopped the blood from dripping onto the tarmac of the road.

“We can’t carry him all the way back, it’ll take too long. George and I will get the car, wait here.” Techno ordered, his voice firm despite the traumatic circumstances. Wilbur nodded pathetically; all his attention directed onto Tubbo who lay before him. 

“Come on, George.” Techno encouraged. George just nodded dumbly in reply, beginning to run after the older at full pelt. 

The colour blind boy had yet to regain his ability to speak, feeling an invisible hand tighten around his throat. It's hold was suffocating.

The more time his brain had to process what Dream had done the further his sanity crumbled. 

Rapidly a light rainfall started, as warned from the earlier greying of the sky, dripping tiny translucent reflections upon the inhabitants of the earth relentlessly. George continued to run behind Techno, the cold breeze and bitter raindrops refreshing his cold sweat, clearing his mind of all thoughts for a moment and allowing himself a second of internal peace. The steady, fast paced rhythm their feet made as they sprinted under the smoky weeping clouds provided a comforting distraction, something George tried to soak in and use to calm his unstable state.

A single tear ran unknowingly down his pale cheek, hidden by the rain as yet another water droplet that would eventually filter into the ground. But the rain couldn’t disguise the trembling of his jaw. Or the desolate sob that quietly wracked his body. Nor could it conceal the watery eyes that threatened to spill more rich tears that rivalled the assaulting raindrops. Even his own mind was ignorant to his grieving condition. He began to cry. 

He cried for the dying boy, bleeding out on the pavement. He cried for his friends who had left him disconsolate and heartbroken. He cried for the polluting blight of the crippling world he was born into. He cried for the future, for which he feared would bring further suffering. 

He cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo this chapter happened.... what’d we think abt it? 0-0 I honestly dont know what to say lol
> 
> Comments are highly appreciated, hope everyone had a fun and safe halloween!


	14. Chapter 14

Heavy breaths went unheard under the now thundering rain. Quickly paces faltered as the exhaustion set in. Their bodies felt like they were made of stone. Hail had begun to scatter on the city streets, battering anyone under the volatile ashen clouds. 

“Dream.” Sapnap gasped out, having fallen slightly behind the older boy. He received no indication that the blonde had heard him. “Dream!” He repeated desperately, hands clenching at his sides as he slowed down to a stop. Dream finally began to lessen his pace, still remaining a few metres ahead of Sapnap. 

“What?” Dream said with a frustrated tone, facing away from Sapnap defiantly.

“What do you mean ‘what’?” Sapnap uttered sarcastically, raising a hand to drag down his face in exasperation. “Look at us, Dream. What are we doing?” The aforementioned blonde remained still as he listened, hail still surging down relentlessly upon the pair from the skies above.

“I don’t know.” He said defeatedly, finally turning to Sapnap with a desolate look. If Sapnap’s sight wasn’t obscured by the rain, then perhaps he would’ve noticed the tears pricking the green eyes of his companion. “I don’t know.” The latter repeated again, only this time in a barely audible whisper. 

Sapnap moved forward on instinct, engulfing Dream into a tight hug. “It’s okay not to know. It’s okay.” Dream just nodded into Sapnap’s shoulder, tears and rain dribbling down his face.

—

“What the fuck happened, George?” Techno asserted to the colour blind boy in the car seat beside him. Tubbo lay unconscious in the backseat, Wilbur beside him in hysterics. The iron smell of blood was dreadfully overwhelming.

“I don’t know.” A whispered, lifeless reply. George’s brain was on auto pilot and beginning to freeze. He felt sick. 

"What do you mean, you 'don't know'?" Techno's voice was the loudest George had ever heard it been, making George physically cower further away from the intimidating male. George found his mouth useless as no words could form, his mind tried but his sudden, jarring lack of ability to speak stopped his brain in its tracks.

Techno inquired no further when he received no reply, realising it would serve no use to question the clearly traumatised boy who was now mute in shock from whatever had occurred in the alleyway. Instead, he moved his harsh glare purely onto the road ahead, speeding down the streets of New York City towards the compound. The hearty sobs of Wilbur and the engine of the car served as a rattling orchestra of background noise.

The car’s inhabitants continued in this feverish state until they arrived at the compound. It was still raining. “Open the doors.” Techno instructed after throwing George a weighty key. With as much efficiency as possible in his shell-shocked condition, he moved to the front entrance, stumbling with the key as he shoved it into the lock. A few moments after forcing the heavy doors open, Wilbur shouted “move!” brutally to the mentally detached boy, causing him to jump and slide to the side.

With plenty of room, Techno and Wilbur lugged the wounded boy in hurriedly past George. Their breaths were laboured in a mix of both physical and emotional exhaustion. George stood there dumbly, watching the scene before him in a disassociated state. He'd lost so much blood and it only continued to pour. His brown eyes were dilated as they zeroed in on the bullet wound which had been exposed by Wilbur ripping open Tubbo's top to check the extent of the damage. 

“Leave him here. Go get the first aid.” Techno ordered. Wilbur didn’t even bother to nod, already darting down the corridor. His footsteps echoed in the quiet he left behind. 

Tubbo lay in the middle of the corridor, in front of the now closed doors of the front entrance. He looked pale even next to the cold stone walls around him. Techno was kneeling beside him, up-keeping a constant pressure against the wound with some ripped fabric in concentrated silence that only served to unnerve George further as he stood uselessly to the side. Footsteps, from the opposite corridor from where Wilbur had run down, captured George’s attention. His mind uselessly predicted Wilbur had returned already with the medical supplies.

It wasn’t Wilbur. The footsteps were too light and unaware. George tried to warn the arrival to look away, but the words were too weighty to leave his tongue.

There the young blonde stood in a kind of stupor, frozen. Stock still. Youthful blue eyes were wide like a startled animal, fixed upon the unconscious boy laying on the hard corridor tiles. The air was suspended with a sense of fragility, no one moving. It was as if a single action would result in an explosion. 

“Tubbo?” The words were spoken by Tommy with painful normality. It was as if the reality hadn’t hit the young boy as he walked in upon his best friend lying unconscious, or possibly dead, in front of him. Initially, Techno made no move to acknowledge Tommy, seeming to be unusually unknowing of what to do as he only continued to preserve the pressure on Tubbo’s wound. However, after Tommy began to approach him, he gave the younger an unyielding stare with his coal eyes. 

“Tommy. Go.” George watched as Tommy completely ignored the elder’s command, continuing to move towards Tubbo’s side with a kind of delicate hesitance. It reminded George of how someone would walk up to someone sleeping when they didn’t want to wake them. If one ignored the pale skin and blood-soaked clothes, perhaps one could mistake Tubbo for being in a peaceful slumber.

Once Tommy had reached less than a metres proximity to Tubbo and Techno, he moved with a sudden clumsiness, collapsing to his knees beside the former, pushing Techno to the side in the process. “Hey, Tubbo!” He said, voice scratchy with an attempt at a jovial tone. Slowly he began to try shake Tubbo, hands gripping the unconscious boy’s shoulders tightly. “Wake up, come on!” Techno pushed Tommy away, causing him to fall back onto the floor weakly.

Hastily, Tommy righted himself, immediately turning his attention to the older male who was back to focusing on Tubbo. “What the fuck is going on? Techno! What happened to him?” Tommy said with an outburst of ferocity, barring his teeth viciously and staring at Techno with a look of unbridled abhorrence. A headache began to form in George’s mind, his muscles feeling sluggish as he watched on like a ghost. Seconds later, Wilbur appeared, grasping a box labelled first aid and dropping it beside Techno. 

Tommy then tried to move closer to Tubbo again, eyes darting between Techno and Tubbo in a state of internal conflict. Somehow Wilbur managed to predict Tommy’s second attempt to push Techno away and before he could do so, he quickly moving to capture the younger’s wrists in one hand.

“…Wil?” Tommy said, tone filled with defeated betrayal and confusion as his blue eyes collided with Wilbur’s deep brown. “Who did this? Tell me who." When he received no immediate reply, the young boy tried to escape the elder’s grip, writhing in anger. “Who the fuck did this? Who, Wilbur!” He shouted, blue eyes becoming watery like a tsunami and temper rising with each passing word.

“I don't know. Please Tommy, we need to help Tubbo." Wilbur paused after his voiced cracked from the flood of turbulent emotions. "I’m sorry.” Wilbur uttered despairingly, tears beginning to prick in his deep eyes as he watched Tommy’s heart break in two. 

George couldn’t take it any longer. Wilbur’s words reminded him too closely of Tubbo’s from after he'd been shot, the tragic echo haunting his already splintered mind. In reaction, he ran.

George was sprinting away from the corridor like a robber at the scene of the crime he committed. As if the faster he ran the faster he would be freed from his own crushed sanity.

A terrible noise wracked his body as he escaped the scene, surprising himself when he realised it had come from his own mouth. The sound was choked and pitiful, frustrating George as it was accompanied by his vision becoming blurry and wet. He slowed down his pace to wipe the raindrops from his cheek and eyes. He was inside, it wasn’t raining. But he could pretend it was.

—

He was holed up in a random unlocked room he’d found, deep into the passages of the classical building. It was windowless and filled with cardboard boxes, their contents remaining unknown to the male as he simply closed the door and moved to the furthest corner of the room to slump in a ball, not bothering to even turn on the light. Time became irrelevant. He could’ve been sitting there for minutes, hours or even days. 

Still in a daze, his mind absently pondered where it all went wrong. His mind tiredly suggested that it was the day where he’d been supposedly left to die to a zombie bite, but then again, he had no memory of that day. And after Dream and Sapnap reappeared he was left even more conflicted than before – especially since they feigned innocence to leaving him alone. George had always retained the hope that the people he was closest to on this Earth wouldn't have left him to die. But Techno had saved him, even if he only kept him around to help find a cure. The others - they surely wouldn’t lie to him, they had no reason to right? Wilbur had tried to make him feel at home, even without Dream and Sapnap, introducing him to Tommy and-

His mind short circuited before he could finish the thought. As a distraction he suddenly mobilised his stiff limbs to push himself to his feet, turning on the light beside the closed door and beginning to wander towards the cardboard boxes. A few were filled with untouched documents, probably from before the apocalypse happened. They talked of taxes and other tedious numerical figures that George cared nought about. Another box was opened to reveal a mess of stationary; more paperclips, a box cutter, scissors and more paper. He took a couple paperclips, deciding they could be used as a good distraction. He also moved to grasp the box cutter tightly in his left hand, his eyes then drifting to his bandaged right hand. 

The dirtied, white material was tattered from the rain but still managed to keep the wounded skin underneath enclosed. With an attempted carefulness he sliced away at the thick bandage, hand slightly shaking as his breathing became quick and laboured. Eventually it left only a thin layer of white cloth to cover the wound, causing him to discard the box cutter carelessly onto the floor and easily pull off the cloth. His right hand throbbed with pain as his fingers ripped the remaining bandage off, and in the process, lightly made contact with the wound. But finally, the bite was revealed. 

It was nightmarish. 

Brown eyes bore into the bite, black flecks of dried blood still plaguing the wound in all its unhealed glory. It was a grim sight, the wound appearing fleshy and vile in the yellowish light. He hated it. Unintentionally, he’d been holding his breath and his eyes had begun to water slightly. His lungs cried out with a burning sensation, forcing the colour blind boy to take a starving gulp of air that flooded his lungs with oxygen again. 

‘What am I doing?’ He thought, eyes moving to look at the tatters of bandage left alongside the box cutter on the floor. He had nothing to cover the bite with anymore and it only continued to throb in the open air. His stomach turned inside out at the thought of leaving it exposed. He deeply exhaled to calm himself.

He moved to the door, turning off the light and leaving the mess behind him as he emerged out into the cold corridor. A phantom shiver ran up his spine as his footsteps echoed in the stillness. He searched for a sign of life in the paralysed building. Fleetingly he thought about shouting out for someone, but he discarded that idea upon his doubt that his voice would even succeed in forming words, let alone an audible shout. Instead, he resigned himself to continue in his silent search, turning corners and corridors to find something or someone. 

Upon turning an unsuspecting corner, he bumped into something, pathetically falling to the ground in his surprise. He looked up to the obstacle, recognising it as Punz, one of their 'scouts'. The blonde grunted at him, giving an openly condescending look. “I’ve been looking for you for hours. You’re not meant to be around here.” He muttered with tired venom, not bothering to help George up as he scrambled to his feet. A few seconds passed as Punz waited for reply, upon realising he wasn’t going to receive one he continued with a sigh. “Just follow.” George walked after the blonde dumbly, mind thankful to have come out of his isolation from other life even if Punz outwardly expressed his annoyance at George’s presence. 

After a while the unlikely pair stopped outside a nondescript door, Punz knocking three times and clicking his tongue as he waited with the mute brown haired boy. The door swung open, revealing a bloodshot eyed Wilbur. The male’s tall frame blocked the view of the inside of the unknown room to George’s eyes, his brain wondering what the room was for. Punz took a step back from the door and motioned to George’s existence. “Found him wandering around.” Punz said. Wilbur's eyes were void of emotion as he looked at the blonde.

"Can he talk yet?" Wilbur asked, turning to George expectantly. Wilbur's face turned sour when George's only reaction was to look at the floor. Punz ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable in Wilbur's awfully threatening aura.

Wilbur grinded his teeth, attention moving back to Punz from George. “Take him to his room.” Was all Wilbur said before he promptly shoved the door closed in their faces, leaving Punz and George to stand unintelligently outside the room.

Punz sighed again, clearly unhappy with George being under his charge. “Alright, come on then.” And the blonde began again to head down the corridor, leaving George to throw a quick, confused look to the door Wilbur had disappeared back into before he followed after Punz. 

Once they reached a corridor that George recognised to lead to his designated room Punz paused and waved a hand theatrically towards the door of his room. “Here you go, need anything before I leave you, your Highness?” Punz said sarcastically. George shook his head, walking past the blonde and into his room. The click of the door shutting behind him caused George to turn suddenly, a frown forming when the heavy sound of a lock rattled moments later.

It looked like he would alone again for a while. Alone with his bite and derailing thoughts that had left him voiceless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I went through a mental breakdown but I survived so it's all good :) Moral of the story; school is hard. Anyways, I had a minor writers block moment (the first one I've had for this story) so I got rid of it by writing the first chapter of 'Supercut' which is a way less angsty fic that I've had in my mind for a while. It was good to get that idea written down - it cleared my mind so I was able to write this chapter. It also didn't help this chapter was so depressing in its contents...
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated, thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed, have a great day/ night :)
> 
> edit; I also just changed the name to ‘despite everything’ from ‘losing oxegyn’, I CAN’T CHOOSE A NAME FOR THE LIFE OF ME  
> edit 2; I changed the name again to requiem, I seriously am so indecisive, hopefully this name sticks ;(


	15. Chapter 15

Their footsteps echoed forebodingly through the concrete passageway, walking in silence towards the worn, grey steel door. Upon reaching arms width metal barrier, Dream nodded to Sapnap in wordless affirmation after gently patting the white glasses that were tucked in his back pocket. The black-haired boy knocked heavily twice, the icy metal biting his knuckles as they made contact with the door. Promptly the pair took a step back in unison, both holding their breaths unconsciously as they waited for the door to be opened. They tried to ignore the feeling of dread that pooled in their gut.

It had taken considerably less time than expected to locate Bad’s bunker. Efficiently, they found the tunnel entrance just before sundown, in the dried-out river basin like they remembered. They’d sprinted through the humid, unlit tunnel with an unrelenting pace. This was the only place they could think of to go to after the events of the day, both unwilling to return to their vantage point in the building beside Techno’s compound.

Creaking, the door scraped open, metal scratching against the stone floor. “You two are the last people on Earth I expected to come back here.”

Green and dark brown eyes narrowed as they looked to the speaker who had revealed himself from behind the door. 

“Eret.” 

“Hello, gentlemen.” The aforementioned male nodded politely in acknowledgement. 

Dream was the first to take a step forwards, eyes hard as he spoke. “Where’s Bad? We need to talk to him.”

Eret extended an arm, blocking their path inside. “I’ll need to take your weapons before you enter.”

“No, it’s okay.” Dream countered with feigned casualness, tapping his shotgun that was slung over his shoulder and offering a challenging look to the brown haired male.

Eret ignored the look and gave the blonde a civil smile, dropping his extended arm and moving to the side to welcome the pair in. “Bad is a busy man, as you must remember. I’m sure I can pass on a message for you.” The elder male said, expressing a trustworthy aura to Sapnap and Dream as they slid past him, purposely keeping their distance. Eret closed the door behind them, feigning ignorance to the pair’s distrust. 

“Nah. We’d prefer to tell him ourselves.” Sapnap replied nonchalantly, keeping his tone calm and inconspicuous. Eret’s smile faltered slightly before returning to normal half a second later, adjusting his sunglasses awkwardly. 

“Right.” Eret said, noticeably pretending to not be taken back by the pair’s disregarding words. “Goodluck finding him.” Dream briefly nodded to the sunglass wearing male, quickly turning away and pulling Sapnap after him as he weaved through the mass of people. Once they were out of sight of the traitorous male their faces dropped the unknowing façade, turning bitter in resentment after coming into contact with the person who had ties to George’s capturers. They had to warn Bad. 

The horde of people were too busy chatting to take notice of the familiar arrivals, not noticing the weapons that hung from their shoulders much to their luck. If anyone did notice they only threw the pair a mildly concerned look before returning to their conversations. Dream mentally thanked the population of Bad’s bunker for their idiocy. 

The large room had a buzz of noise, the suffocating feeling of claustrophobia creeping upon them and reminding of them of how much they disliked their time hidden from the sun. Trying to ignore the smothered sensation, their eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a glimpse of Bad. Annoyance built up in their bones as many unsuccessful minutes passed. “Where is he?” Dream muttered under his breath; brow wrinkled in concentration. He received a grumble in reply from his equally discontent companion. They resigned themselves to lean against a wall at the far end of the room, eyes remaining diligently surveying the crowd.

“Shit.” Sapnap growled under his breath, causing Dream to try find what the former had spotted. Swiftly his green eyes met the form of Skeppy, approaching them with blatant determination, efficiently passing through the crowd that parted for him. 

“Shit indeed.” Dream chuckled lowly, hand moving to tightly grip the strap of his shotgun to ground himself. Sapnap sighed from his place beside the taller blonde, rubbing his forehead in preparation to calm the headache he predicted he was about to receive.

“What the fuck are you two doing back here?” Skeppy said, coming to a stop a metre ahead of the pair, placing a hand on his hip with his other hand dangling his rifle.

“It’s a long story.” Sapnap drawled, dark eyes still scanning the rest of the room for Bad with disinterest. Dream rolled his eyes at Sapnap, deciding that cooperation with Skeppy would be the best option. 

“Look, there’s something not right going on.” Dream began, tone pleading. Before continuing he swiftly checked the surrounding area for any possible listeners. They couldn’t be too careful, who knew if there were any others with connections to Techno. “It’s to do with Eret.” 

Skeppy raised an eyebrow at the blonde’s words, remaining silent as to encourage Dream to continue. “We saw him enter Techno’s base, we saw some other pretty fucked up shit too–“ Skeppy raised his hand to silence Dream mid-sentence, appearing to be mulling something over in his brain.

“Come with me.” Was all he said before he disappeared into the crowd, causing Dream and Sapnap to follow hurriedly after exchanging disquieted expressions. Skeppy took the pair to what they remembered to be called ‘security’, sliding a key smoothly into the lock and pushing open the door. To the left of them sat ten computer monitors, showing live footage of the security cameras. Their eyes eventually fell upon Bad who sat hunched over a desk on the right side of the room, his hand anxiously combing through his lighter brown hair. 

“Bad.” Skeppy said, alerting the distracted male to their presence. Bad looked up immediately, standing up in shock as his wearied eyes went wide as they fell upon Dream and Sapnap. Bad looked incredibly stressed.

“What are you guys doing here?“ Bad began with disorientating surprise.

“They’ve got information, Bad.” Skeppy interrupted, moving to the former’s side with an uncharacteristically caring tone. Bad sat back down into the metal chair, his limbs appearing tense and rigid as he smoothed out his shirt. 

“Go on.” Bad said as he moved his attention back to the three arrivals, trying to calm himself down as he awaited the pair’s information. 

Sapnap huffed with a kind of rueful humour. “Where do we even start?” He looked up to the ceiling, as if the answer lay in the grey cement above. “I guess we can say that our friend we lost, George, somehow survived a zombie bite.” 

Bad and Skeppy’s faces collectively turned into portraits of disbelief.

After a moment of revelation, Bad blinked wildly before adjusting his glasses from where they'd become skewed by his expression of stupefaction. "Your friend... Is alive after a bite? Are you sure?"

Dream answered, voice filled with conviction. "Certain." 

"You know what this means, right?" Bad asked, tone becoming euphoric. Dream and Sapnap remained silent with unfeeling eyes. "Techno's done it. A cure.” 

Dream wrinkled his nose, unwilling to break the fragile joy by voicing his worry at George's situation and the concerning circumstances surrounding Techno. "That man is a terrible genius..." Bad continued to mutter, raising a hand to his chin as he pondered aloud. Skeppy remained obviously sceptical, eyes stuck to the floor, processing the information in quiet thoughtfulness. 

“What else… Oh yeah. Dream do you want to explain the Eret situation?” Sapnap suggested, alike Dream, wanting to avoid hearing Bad continue to praise the psycho who took George from them. He looked to the blonde as the pair in front of them continued to be stuck in a fascinated stupor. 

“Eret, we saw him enter Techno’s compound when we were watching for George. I don’t suppose you know he had connections to that guy?” Dream queried with hostility. Bad shook his head straight away, gradually breaking out of his numbed state. 

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.” Bad stumbled on his words with honest bewilderment. 

“You’re sure it was him?” Skeppy asked, voice hard with chagrin as his dark piercing eyes struck into Dream’s bright green.

“Definitely. His glasses, very recognisable.” The blonde asserted, answering whilst upholding the heavy eye contact before continuing. “We’re also pretty sure he told Techno that me and Sapnap were trying to find George, it would explain why George would never leave the bunker without people watching him.” Dream’s words drifted, anger building within him. He shook his head to clear it. “Regardless, we need to get that fucker in here now and start asking him some questions.” Sapnap nodded with aggravated enthusiasm.

“Okay, we need to collect evidence so we could accuse him with reason and be just-“ Dream felt his irritation levels suddenly sky rocket.

“Just?” Dream cried out, voice loud and tone frustrated. “Oh, come on now Bad! There is no fucking thing as being ‘just’ in this world, are you too blind to see that?” Dream gripped the strap of his shotgun with increased tension. His mind was working on hyperdrive, rage rushing through his blood at Bad’s purity and ignorance.

“Dream, we run things differently here. We’ve established order, like how the world used to be run.” Bad tried, appealing to the tempered blonde with desperation clouding his words.

“How can you even try to compare the past with the present - you weren’t even fucking alive to remember the old world! This isn’t some petty dispute in your little bunker, Bad. This could cost lives!” Sapnap flung his hands up in the air with exasperation, turning to Dream to gauge his reaction.

“I understand that, but we’re trying to set a better standard!” Bad resisted, clearly distressed. 

Dream laughed darkly. “If this world had the capability to be held to a ‘standard’ then George would be with us right now. Stop trying to make us play fair when we have the losing cards.”

Bad’s thoughts were stopped in their tracks as he looked to Dream with undisguised defeat. Skeppy sighed with frustration from his position beside the still sitting Bad. He’d already realised that Bad’s empathetic side was triumphant and Dream had won. “Okay. You win.” Bad moved to cradle his head in his hands that rested upon the desk. 

Dream and Sapnap’s aggression diffused from their bodies instantaneously, making their bodies feel slightly sluggish after being tensed for the confrontation. Bad exhaled heavily, leading Dream to notice how the male appeared to have aged terribly since the last time they’d seen him, only weeks ago. 

“Is everything good here, Bad?” Dream carefully questioned, eyes meeting with Skeppy when Bad only replied with another heavy exhale of air. Skeppy placed his rifle onto the desk beside Bad’s head with a clunk. 

“People have gone missing from the bunker. People are asking for answers and we have none.” Skeppy explained with an uncharacteristic show of weariness. Bad finally raised his head, returning to a better posture in the seat. He rubbed his eyes using his palms with a distinct lack of energy.

“Six people went missing a week or so ago- all in one night! I mean how does that even happen?” Bad said incredulously. A spark of horrifying recognition struck Dream, dropping his shotgun’s strap from his grip suddenly, causing the weapon to fall forcefully to the ground with a painful clatter.

In a similar reaction, Sapnap moved to lean against the wall as to keep himself upright, readjusting the strap that kept his Katana across his back. “Holy fucking shit.” He uttered.

“Language.” Bad tried to scorn pointlessly, voice too weak to come across as enforcing.

Dream moved towards Bad, leaving his shotgun discarded on the floor. “It’s all connected to that bastard.” Skeppy threw the blonde a condescending look. Dream internally laughed as he realised, he probably sounded like a crazy person. Dream continued on nevertheless. “Techno’s the puppeteer.”

“What are you on about?” Skeppy said brazenly, already prepared to discount Dream’s theory. 

“Sh. Let him talk.” Bad silenced his companion swiftly. Dream gave a delicate yet appreciative smile to Bad. 

“We saw six people being led into Techno’s place, like hostages.”

Sapnap spoke next. He mirrored Dream’s face of gruesome realisation. “Dream…The body left on the street- I knew I fucking recognised it!” Bad listened to Sapnap with a horrified expression. “Two of Techno’s people - kids really- they dumped a body in the street a few nights ago. We were afraid it was George, so we checked it. I thought I’d seen the person before in this bunker. Looks like I was right.”

“So, let me get this straight.” Skeppy said aloud to himself, clearly struggling with his own mind to make sense of the situation. “Techno has your little friend- who is somehow immune to zombie bites- presumably due to a cure, Eret is colluding with Techno...” Dream and Sapnap nodded. “And you saw specifically six people being taken into Techno’s compound? And one of them dead.” He received another nod of confirmation from the pair. Skeppy went quiet once again.

“This is a nightmare.” Bad whispered, the words barely audible as they mixed with his heavy breaths. “What can we even do?” His voice cracked with each passing word. Dream and Sapnap were silent, minds too cluttered with the implications of their sudden connection of events from the past weeks to think of an answer. 

A shaken stillness confined the room, like the moments of mental retraction after a devastating earthquake. An unavoidable shiver of helplessness flooded the inhabitants of the room. 

“I--why would they be doing this?” Bad said quietly with distraught poignant in the air. “I never did anything to Techno; I purposely avoided him all this time… And Eret, we-“ His words cut off in distressed hysteria.

“Bad…” Skeppy said, moving to place a comforting hand on the back of the light brown-haired male. 

Dream raked a hand through his blonde locks. “We need to start by getting Eret, he’s obviously the informant.” Bad closed his eyes and breathed one last deep breath before standing up and moving to the door. 

“Okay. Skeppy, get your men.” Bad paused, appearing to assure himself of the righteousness of his actions. “Bring him here.”

—

George was awoken from his dreamless state of limbo by the rattle of the door unlocking, jumping up from where he lay on top of the covers. Brown eyes stared nervously at the doorknob as it turned, and the door subsequently slid open. 

Rapidly, his mind whirled through the possibilities of who it could be. He hoped for it to be Tommy smiling cheekily, or Wilbur greeting him cheerfully - like he used to. Or even Tubbo. For the boy to walk in safe and sound, ready to tell George that it had all been an awful nightmare. 

The last person he expected to stride in was Techno. 

“Hello, George.” 

The colour blind boy blinked at Techno with unconcealed startlement. On instinct, George tried to reply verbally, once he’d gotten past his initial surprise. He was stumped to find his words come out as more of a cracked gasp for air than his intended ‘hello’. Techno’s mouth quirked visibly downwards in disappointment at his lack of voice. George couldn’t help the feeling of failure that creeped into this mind.

“I thought you’d like to know of Tubbo’s condition.” Techno’s voice was monotonous as usual and so gave no inclination as to whether his news would be positive or negative, causing a suffocating spike of anxiety to choke him. 

“He’s unstable, but alive.”

George gaped straight into Techno’s inky eyes with overwhelming relief. Tubbo was alive, he could make it. 

George couldn’t comprehend it. His mind had been haunting him with images of the boy bleeding out, thick rivers of blood drenching the floor. The feeling of responsibility was inevitably corrupting him as every thought was smudged with guilt. Techno seemed to notice George’s unspoken comfort at the news, moving to stand directly in front of him as George remained sat cross legged on the bed.

“Of course, we still need you to tell us what happened.” Techno then brought out a pen and a notepad, placing them on the bed next to George. “At least write it down if you can’t say it aloud, I'm suspecting your sudden inability to talk is an unfortunate side effect of trauma.”

George gave a withering smile to the elder, grateful for his more understanding nature that contrasted with Wilbur’s obvious anger at his sudden muteness from earlier. He didn’t choose to be voiceless; it was out of his control. As if Techno could read his mind, he continued. 

"I was told of Wilbur's cold attitude towards you earlier and I would like to apologise on his behalf. Understandably he is terrified of anything happening to those boys, treats them like his little brothers. He- we all need to know who did this." A small, uncomfortable second of silence followed, leading George's eyes to drift to the floor as incapacity began to build within him.

He couldn’t tell them it was Dream. No matter what happened or what Dream did, he just couldn’t. An indescribable feeling bubbled within him, rendering his mind defenceless to a single need– to find Dream again.

“I’ll get someone to bring food in for you, anything else you need?” After momentarily forgetting about Techno’s presence, George tried to answer verbally again before remembering his state of muteness. The simple words were simply impossible to form. 

Instead, he reached for the notepad and pen, quickly scribbling down his request. Once he’d finished writing he held the notepad out, presenting it to Techno with a hopeful look. The older male’s expression turned sharp as he read aloud. “You want to find your friends, alone?” Coal eyes turned impossibly darker, narrowing before looking back to George. 

George was no mind reader or strategist, but could already predict he had made the wrong move in this game of chess. 

“…And why would you want to do that? After all they did to you?” Techno questioned almost absentmindedly, eyes moving to survey the room with blank interest. Once his eyes returned back to George’s form he continued. He sighed. “I suppose I should tell you this now, though I was going to wait until you were more mentally steady.” George bit down on his tongue to stop the sickly feeling that creeped with warning in his throat. 

“Punz and Ponk, you remember, our scouts? They were out a few days ago in the outskirts of the city’s suburbs.” Confusion built within George, unsure of where Techno was going. “They reported a blonde and black haired boy, looking to be around your age, sounding familiar?” George gave no outward sign of recognition, deciding to remain quiet as to hear what else Techno had to say. The latter appeared hesitant to continue without any sign from George but continued regardless. 

“Ponk said they appeared to be heading South into the countryside, probably to go somewhere warmer as Winter approaches, I predict at least. Could these be your friends?”

A lie.

He’d caught him in a lie.

Dream and Sapnap had been in the alleyway, not leaving the outskirts of New York. 

George was shell shocked, struggling to conceal the disturbance on his face. It raised an uncontrollable number of questions in George’s mind, rendering him unable to coherently form a reply. He eventually decided to imitate a façade of sadness in reply, letting the shock on his face morph into dejection. Techno seemed to approve of George’s reaction, moving to the door before turning to George one last time.

He may have initially made the wrong move, but it was a valuable sacrifice. He now had evidence that what Dream and Sapnap said was true. Techno was a manipulator. 

“I am, once again, sorry about your friends. I must remind you that you’re part of something bigger here, part of a cure, part of humanities salvation. You’ll always be safe here, with us. I’m sorry, George.” And with that, Techno disappeared out the door, locking it audibly behind him. 

George laid back immediately on the bed, staring at the whitewashed ceiling vacantly. Questions screamed warnings in his brain. Techno had lied to him, what reason would he have to lie? Why would he need to keep Dream and Sapnap away from him? 

However, one question remained glaringly prominent, oppressing all other questions. If Techno had lied about Dream and Sapnap leaving…

What else had he lied about?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some big revelations this chapter, very exciting stuff! I have already started writing the next chapter, I'm around 1/4 done.
> 
> I'm doing way better mentally now so I'm able to actually enjoy writing again even though it took 2 hours to edit all ~3.5k of this chapter :[ (if you see any mistakes, please tell me, I can't bear to look at it any longer)
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated, hope you all have an amazing day/ night!


	16. Chapter 16

“Hey guys, no force needed, I’m not going anywhere with those things pointed at me.” Eret, lacking mobility with his hands, motioned to the guns pointed towards him with his head. He was vigorously tied to the metal chair Bad had previously been sitting at behind the desk. Dream scoffed at his joking tone. 

He walked up to him, green eyes stony as he swiped off the dark sunglasses that obscured Eret’s eyes, briefly looking over them with disgust before discarding them to the floor and decidedly stamping on them. They were now shards of dark plastic and glass.

Eret frowned, his revealed murky brown eyes simmering with distaste.

“You can leave now; we’ve got it covered.” Skeppy muttered to his men who nodded and lowered their weapons, moving out of the security room in silence. Eret was left alone with Dream, Sapnap, Skeppy and Bad, having to face four varying looks of malice.

“You’re doing something really stupid right now.” He commented casually, tone lilted with a hidden threat. Dream retained his unwavering hard stare, standing directly in front of him. The blonde quirked his eyebrow, tone challenging. “How so?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Eret chuckled, rolling his eyes. “They’re going to wonder where I am.”

“Who? Techno?” Sapnap spat with hostility, moving off from the wall that he had been previously leaning on to stand beside Dream. 

Eret went silent. A revulsive, witty smile formed on his lips.

Bad tried next, appealing to Eret with a more friendly tone. Despite Bad’s best attempt at concealment, his words were ruptured with betrayal. “Eret, please. How are you involved with Techno?” When Eret’s silence continued to stretch Sapnap cracked his knuckles, sharing with Dream a wicked smile. 

“Looks like we’ll be doing this the hard way.”

\--

George shoved the notepad and pen off of the bed, creating a small clatter as the objects hit the floor. His dark eyes icy in frustration at his own uselessness. 

He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t leave. He didn’t know what was going on.

His left hand languidly pushed itself into his pocket, finger making contact with the cool metal of the paperclips he had found in the unlocked room from earlier. An idea sparked in his mind. His fingers moved quickly to pull a paperclip out from his pocket, bringing it up to eye level and examining it with sharp determination before moving off the bed and towards the door. He crouched beside the keyhole. ‘Come on,’ he thought as he inserted the metal into the hole and writhed it roughly with his uninjured hand. 

It only took a few seconds before a small snapping sound alerted him that the paperclip had snapped from his abrupt movements. Exhaling weakly, he dropped the remainder of the broken paperclip and dug his hand back into his pocket and pulled out another. He repeated his previous movements but with less severity. Regardless, it snapped.

Third time’s the charm. He bit down upon his tongue in concentration, the pain grounding him.

Snap. The paperclip broke. Again. 

At this point the door’s lock was going to be jammed with broken pieces of paperclip. Annoyance washed over him, motivation waning as pain panged through him in warning as he unconsciously flexed his right hand, reminding him of the bite’s lack of covering. Brown eyes blurred from the sting. His legs fell from below him as he slumped to sit on the floor. His foggy eyes wandered; his head solemnly vacant of thoughts. Eventually, his roving vision settled upon the mirror on the other side of the room.

The mirror’s gold trimming churned his stomach uncomfortably as he moved closer, shuffling towards the reflective glass. It had felt like decades since George had seen his own reflection, having a sudden dreadful urge to see himself as the rest of the world did.

George stared at the reflection with aggrievement, a shudder wracking his small frame.

His face was a foreign sight, only vaguely recognisable. Dark circles, harsh cheekbones, paltry skin and haunted eyes. He wistfully wondered how Dream had looked him in the eye when he looked like this. A shadow of a life, withering into a corpse. How had those green eyes, so full of vitality, not been disgusted at the sight of him? 

A single tear sailed down his cheek, leaving a delicate trail of glistening crystal. 

A weak, watery smile was painted on his lips as he noticed the tear, his right hand moving thoughtlessly to wipe away the remnants softly. Dark eyes caught onto the charred black, open ridges of the bite. The throbbing had become barely noticeable, making the wound’s existence easily forgotten. He no longer had the energy to feel repulsion as his eyes roamed the bloodied crevices, noticing small cracks of skin attempting to form webs of discoloured scars. 

Perhaps, one day a scar would finally form over the bite, allowing him to forget the misery. He was sick of the world moving on without him as he remained stagnant, a statue of despondency, ignorant and lied to. His existence was founded upon borrowed time, and he was tired of wasting it. 

The thought sent a sudden agency into his bones and ridded his blood of the sluggish sorrow that had plagued him for days. His mind felt indescribably indestructible from the hope of it all, a smile unconsciously growing wider. He’d gotten this far, why not make a lark of the misery? 

The brown-haired boy looked back to the mirror, grinning wildly at his pale reflection and grabbing the top of the golden trim. He wrenched it off the wall with both his hands, stubbornly ignoring the stinging of the bitemark. Once the mirror was free from its attachment to the wall, George let go, leaving the mirror to shatter on the ground with a tremendous smash. 

Glass fragmented into a thousand pieces, the thin boy only narrowly avoiding the sharp shards that splintered in all directions, sparsely covering the rooms floor with terrible sparkle. The crash of the mirror was liberatingly cathartic, a raspy laugh escaping George’s mouth with a childish grin on his face. 

“George?” A shout rang through the light air, failing to dampen George’s sudden torrent of mental emancipation. “What’re you doing in there?” It was the exasperated voice of Punz, growing in volume as he seemed to approach the door. A small click alerted him to a key being inserted into the door’s lock. Seconds passed with George’s brown eyes stuck upon the door, waiting for it to open with uncertain anticipation. Confusion briefly sprung into his mind as he questioned why Punz was taking so long to open the door—

“George, what the fuck did you do to the lock?” Another hoarse laugh unexpectedly graced his lips as he realised the broken pieces of paperclip had indeed wedged the lock, allowing him time to formulate a plan.

He gathered the notepad and pen from where he’d abandoned them on the floor, messily scribbling down words before tearing the page out and dropping the notepad and pen to lay beside his feet. With the torn-out page carefully held in his right hand, he reached down to grasp a shard of the broken mirror with his left hand. More mutterings from behind the door and an intimidating slam warned George to Punz’s success in opening the door, shoving it open to reveal the room. George stood frozen; grip rough enough on the shard of mirror to send warnings from his nerves into his brain.

“What—" Punz’s eyes turned comically large as they surveyed the room’s floor before landing on the colour-blind boy with unbridled indignation. Before the blonde could even question George’s motive for smashing the mirror, the latter pulled the glass shard to his throat, raising his eyebrows in a wordless threat.

Punz turned stock still as he realised what George was implying. He let his gun, which had sat securely in his grip, fall to the floor as he raised his hands up in surrender. 

“George, don’t.” He urged, tone attempting to appeal to the brown-haired boy.

George smirked at his words, taking a step forward with the glass still pressed to his neck’s skin, watching to see if Punz made any move to stop him. He didn’t. Punz glared with a deep frown, obviously having been instructed to make sure George was kept alive regardless of circumstances – just as George had predicted. George then presented the torn paper in his right hand to Punz, letting him read the inscribed sentence.

Punz visibly grinded his teeth as he read, exhaling deeply as his eyes moved from the paper, back to George. “How would I know? I don’t even know what your friends look like, never seen them in my life – only the others have.” He paused to rake a hand through his hair in discontentment. “I only know of their general appearance from what Techno told me from when he’d found you with them.”

George was fatally sick of finding out he had been lied to, but with every word, Dream and Sapnap’s words were being vindicated.

George moved the sharp fragment to dig deeper into his neck, encouraging Punz to continue delving into the web of carefully laid lies Techno had spun to entrap George. “Look, I have no clue where they are now. I have no reason to lie right now, please.” Techno obviously hadn’t informed the blonde of the lie that he had told George earlier regarding Ponk having seen his friends heading South out of the city. George quirked his mouth in irritation. He’d wished for Punz to have at least an idea of where Dream and Sapnap could actually be. Asking anymore questions would be futile he decided, choosing to continue his slow journey past Punz and out of the room.

George’s eyes glided over the discarded weapon on the floor as he took a step closer to the door, briefly wondering whether it would be worth it to take it. George quickly reminded himself that Punz could easily overpower him with his larger build if he gave the blonde even a small chance to do so. Resultantly, he decided against it. Instead, George continued to move forwards, motioning Punz to move out of doorways entrance with his right hand. 

“You’re really going to lose your privileges if you carry on with this.” George internally rolled his eyes; he had already become a glorified prisoner- how could it possibly get worse. 

“…I thought you wanted to help us save lives.”

Guilt struck him like a lightning bolt, dampening his resolve to leave as his thoughts turned grey with thunderous shame. He wanted to save lives, of course he did. But Techno had lied to him, and from what Dream and Sapnap had told him, he dreaded to know what else he’d been lying about. Techno could use him to find a cure once he was reunited with Dream and Sapnap- and once he’d figured out this lattice of lies he had become entrapped in. 

If things went right, his leave would only be temporary. He would be back to help in whatever way he could he concluded resolutely in his mind. But for now, he had to leave to preserve his sanity and find his friends- they were now his priority.

Inhaling, George puffed out his chest and gripped the glass to the point it etched angry red indents into his palm. He used the consuming pain to suppress any blistering feelings of criminality he felt from his determination to leave. 

He met Punz’s eyes, dark colliding with light, leaving no trace of submission as he stared defiantly. 

George then broke out into an unrelenting sprint, escaping from the scene. Heart pumping, adrenaline coursing, breath short. 

“George!” Punz yelled, voice split with animosity. “Fuck!”

Punz’s own hurried sprint echoed behind him, his footsteps heavier yet remaining careful, George still held onto the shard after all. Turning corners and racing down passages, the tiled flooring was unyielding to George’s every step that pounded on the hardened surface. He needed to lose Punz somehow, his weaker physique wouldn’t hold much longer at this pace.

George continued until he found the corridor that led to the entrance, abruptly stopping to turn and face Punz who also slowed to a stop in caution, the latter watching George with narrowed eyes. George raised the sharp point to his neck again, making Punz sigh in defeat. 

“This again, really George?” 

The brown-haired boy gave a small smile to the blonde, wishing he could reply verbally but having to settle with a confident quirk of his mouth. George took a few careful steps back, eyes remaining on Punz as he stood in place, watching with an almost bored expression. George knew he was close, only a few more metres until he reached the door. Only a few more steps until his freedom. Once he reached the door, he risked turning away from Punz, grabbing the handle and pushing—it didn’t open.

He pushed again, this time with a sense of disorientating urgency. Nothing, again. It didn’t budge an inch. 

The realisation hit him like a brick wall. Why had he thought they’d leave it locked? He was a fool.

George turned back around frantically, noticing Punz to be significantly closer with a leering grin on his face as he moved to seize George’s hand, causing George to drop the scrap of mirror to the floor where it splintered further. Punz was forced to step away as to avoid the fragments as George pressed his back forcefully up against the door as a final attempt to somehow force it open. George’s hands shook as hysteria bubbled within him, panic striking him as his mind raced through his other options to escape. He could think of none.

Punz looked to George, urging him to end his futile resistance. “Just stop, George, give up. Come on.” He grabbed George’s arm with one hand, sinking the other into his pocket and pulling out a set of handcuffs. Efficiently they were clicked into place, restraining George’s hands in a frigid metal constraint as he tried to jerk his hands out in futile rebellion. Uncaringly, Punz tugged at the handcuffs, patience having clearly run out a long time ago. He pulled George after him as he stomped back down the corridor, interrupted by an unexpected voice.

“Punz?” The voice rang out, tone unusually muted yet remaining recognisable. 

“Tommy?” Punz said, turning to the younger blonde who appeared to have emerged from one of the doorways. 

There he stood, blue eyes duller than what George remembered, appearing to be ghosted with torment. George’s heart throbbed in a disabling pain, losing the last remnants of his fight as he realised the source of said anguish. 

Tubbo. 

Tubbo, who lay somewhere in the walls around them, nearly having been engulfed by the shadow of death. George shook his head, trying to ward off the harrowing visions of blood that pestered him.

The young lanky boy in front of him, alike George, seemed paler and drained. Tommy looked between the pair, raising an eyebrow in a silent question of what was going on. “He tried to escape, threatened to stab his own throat with some broken glass.” Punz motioned his head back up the corridor where the fractured pieces of glass lay beside the entrance. 

“Of course he did.” Tommy huffed in weak amusement, humour failing to reach his eyes. “I suppose you should put him where the tests are for now, when Techno gets back, we’ll find a more permanent place.” Tommy said absently, his eyes blatantly digging into George. Punz nodded curtly in response, clearly having to follow Tommy’s orders in Techno’s absence. Tommy turned to Punz. “Has he said anything yet?” Tommy shoved his hands into his trouser pockets with a feeble mask of nonchalance. “About Tubbo.” He clarified.

“No… Techno said it was something to do with the trauma.”

“Yeah, I know. I was told the same thing.” Tommy replied with disappointed animosity, blue eyes glazing over as he turned to walk the opposite way without another word. George turned to look up at Punz who was watching Tommy stalk away with a conflicted face of concern. The kid’s despondent appearance had morphed George’s flooding hysteria into a gnawing sadness that he repressed in order to retain control of his spiralling mind. 

He then was marched through the hallways, dragged with little disregard for how the handcuffs dug into his wrists and occasionally caught onto his bite wound. He hissed in discomfort, his feet stumbling slightly as adrenaline vacated his veins and was replaced with a numbing fatigue. 

“You’re really a huge pain in the arse, you know that?” Punz muttered inaudibly under his breath, prompting George to huff theatrically. 

When they came to a stop by an unsuspecting door George scowled, watching as Punz inserted a key and swung open the door. He pushed George in front of him, making him nearly tumble down the metal stairs that reminded him distinctly of the stairs from the room he’d initially woken up in. The room where this whole mess had begun. 

His frown deepened, feeling tainted with a nauseous deja vu. 

At the bottom of the stairwell was a darkness that George’s eyes struggled to adapt to, squinting into the gloom. The air was permeated with the smell of acidic disinfectant, burning his nostrils and helplessly suffocating his oxygen supply. “Shit, where’s the light?” Punz mumbled to himself, a small click sounding a moment later. Light flooded the room, making George blink helplessly as he struggled to discern the area before him. 

Horror submerged him, skin turning icy, blood freezing over- stagnant. 

A white tiled room, surfaces gleaming with menace. Iron bars, six divided cages. Five filled. People, splayed out in silent forms of sickness, groans of unease.

Frenzied, George’s eyes were blown wide as he tried to wordlessly convince Punz to not leave him there, tugging against Punz’s unwavering hold. Ignoring him, Punz pushed George into the empty cell in the corner of the room, slamming the metal bars closed and twisting the key. Locked.

He began to hyperventilate, coughing as he attempted to choke out the words of desperation that clawed at his mind. Punz dared not to look back, only pausing as he began to ascend the stairs. “Just keep away from the others, okay? There’s cameras so we’ll be watching.” He said with rushed indifference, clicking off the light switch before jogging up the stairs, slamming the door shut as he disappeared. 

Blackness then overran the room, leaving George trapped in his mind. George gulped air hungrily, stomach cramping from his rapid breaths. He tried to scream but his voice failed him. A foreign feeling of claustrophobia sedated him, compelling him to stagger into the corner of the cell, sliding down the walls to fall onto the unsympathetic floor. 

He trembled, feeling foolish for believing this nightmare would end so soon. Dying would’ve been easy, so why did living have to be so much harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all aren't going to believe me when I say I initially planned this chapter to be a lot less angsty... But then this happened. Oops.
> 
> I realise this fic, despite being tagged 'dreamnotfound' has a severe lack of dnf so far... Don't worry we're getting there, it's slow burn for a reason!! I have a defined plan as to their development of their relationship, I just didn't want to shove it in unrealistically when they're both literally stuck in a life or death situation - I don't think many people would be contemplating their love life when they've just been traumatised! Just wanted to address it in case people were confused, as I would be if I were reading this fic :)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, next chapter is going to be very chaotic!
> 
> edit: I keep having to repost this chapter because I am finding so many mistakes :,( I swear I reread and edit every chapter, I need to get better at editing my own works :( sorry!!


	17. Chapter 17

Russet eyes blinked rapidly. They were useless. Around him was a simple darkness, nothing discernible in the void engulfing him. His nostrils burned with acid. His ears were filled with an eerie stillness, alerted to every shallow breath he took. 

How long had he been here? It was a pointless question; time didn’t exist in this emptiness. 

Impulsively, he opened his mouth. The unbearable dryness made his voice fracture and crack. 

“Dream?”

Had he spoken, or was it just his imagination? 

As many invisible moments passed, he gradually began to recall how he ended up in this endless night. Not even Dream could come to save him this time, the blonde was probably miles away, unknowing of his wish to escape this dire prison. If he had only listened, trusted his friends when they had found him in the alley. Before Tubbo swung at Sapnap.

He chuckled softly at his misery.

A groan came from the visual silence, a horrifying response to his sorrow. A cold sweat instantly drenched him. Fear overwhelmed his body. Every emotion aside from pure terror vanished, rendering him exposed and unfortified to the indomitable fright. 

He trembled pitifully at his vulnerability. 

Another groan. It was followed by the sound of scratching claws. Like nails on a chalkboard. The sound made him shrink into a ball, clinging to his own being to ground himself from the hysteria inducing sounds. 

It couldn’t be his imagination, the sound was ineffable, a sound only a creation of Satan could produce. He stared too deeply into the black abyss, trying to discern something, anything, with only the angry imaginings of hell staring back. He quickly closed his eyes, frightened by the monsters made by his own mind. 

He needed to get out.

His fingers moved from gripping his flesh to clutch the unyielding ground. Slowly, he moved to crawl on all fours, holding his breath as if it protected him from the monsters that peered at him through the maddening darkness. The wound on his right hand stung sharply, the pain intensified from his inability to see or rely on any of his other senses. Regardless, he continued to clutch his fists as he crawled. The delicate scars that he remembered from before he’d been locked away were probably ruined, reverted back to their ripped state – just like how all his progress to escape was squandered. 

Another, shriller, groan erupted from the blankness. 

A few indiscernible moments later his head bumped suddenly into chilly metal – the iron bars of the cell. He jerked in surprised, causing him to gawkily bash his head against the hardness. His head panged bluntly, slumping to the floor as his body became devastated. The feeling of being both physically exhausted yet mentally stimulated invaded him, unable to relax due to the unrelenting terror than continued to encompass his being. There was no use, the all-consuming darkness compelled him to lie frozen on the floor, mind racing.

A second passed. Or it could’ve been an hour. The arresting pain continued to throb, pulsing ceaselessly. He tried to force his consciousness to sleep but his bloodstream roared with restlessness and his brain shrieked for him to remain fruitlessly vigilant. 

All hope for a moment of respite left him as he lay in the emptiness. 

—

“Sapnap, stop.” Bad interjected, moving to stand between Eret and the angered black-haired boy. “We won’t stoop to the level of torture. A level of morality must be drawn somewhere, and this— this is where I draw the line. We just need to wait him out.”

Sapnap scrunched his inky eyes closed, trying to repress the anger that bubbled within him before reopening them to reply. “You heard the bastard, he said they’d wonder where he was—" 

“—And so, waiting will only give them more time.” Dream finished coldly. He tried to ignore the mocking chuckle that bellowed hauntingly from the tied-up male beside him. His fingers itched to strangle the traitor and rid him of his leering smile. 

Instead, with a straining grasp, his hand clutched his shotgun that hung from his shoulder.

“We need to get answers, not only for us, but for the safety of your community too.” Sapnap said, mouth attempting to form a kind, bolstering smile and failing pitifully.

“They’ve got a point, Bad.” Skeppy voiced reluctantly. “We have to do something. Sooner rather than later.”

Bad sighed shakily, his movements followed by everyone’s eyes as he walked to the security cameras at the other end of the room. Dream followed carefully, stopping to stand next to Bad and placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. Bad’s eyes were trained upon one of the screens, the flickering glow of the live image lighting up his grave expression. His sunken eyes and rows of deepened forehead wrinkles were highlighted. 

“Is this really what I have to resort to? Torturing people for information? I never asked for this. Why us?” His voice was barely above a whisper, going unheard to all but the blonde standing beside him.

“That’s what I keep asking myself, why did this happen to us? Why George? All my life all I’ve wanted to do was just survive. I never wanted to hurt anyone; just protect the ones I love.” Dream muttered, his mind recalling the boy he’d shot in that alley— 

He squeezed Bad’s shoulder tightly before allowing his hand to swing back down to his side. 

“…And I’ve come to realise that I don’t give a fuck about morals— it doesn’t matter where you draw the line. You’re still stuck in this fucked up reality.” Verdant eyes turned around to meet Sapnap’s, a glimmer of darkness in those evergreen orbs. “Morals are a shield for those who are too weak to do what is necessary, a way to claim a façade of superiority while losing against those who disregard them.”

Taken aback by Dream’s violent words, Sapnap's mouth downturned in worry. “Dream, what are you talking about?” 

“I’m sick of letting people,” he motioned his hand to refer to Eret, who sat silently, tied up and still smirking like a psycho. “—Keep George away from us with no repercussions.”

“Dream, come on, we’re going to get George back no matter what. No need to spit on Bad’s ethics.” Sapnap tried to reason, recognising the resentment brewing in the blonde’s mind from his brutal tone.

“You think once you find George Techno will just give him up?” Eret taunted maniacally, the sound feeding the whirlpool of tormenting wrath within Dream. “He’ll follow that boy to the ends of the Earth, you’d be foolish to think or act otherwise—"

Half a second passed and Dream’s fist collided with Eret’s cheek. 

A resonating smack echoed through the room’s hush.

“DREAM!” Sapnap cried, moving to push Dream away from Eret whose nose had begun to dribble scarlet. Skeppy huffed humorously at the scuffle as he watched from the sidelines, leaned up against the wall, observing the situation with his usual sour expression. 

Dream adjusted the strap of his shotgun wordlessly, pointedly ignoring Sapnap’s wide eyed glare. Dream moved back to stand beside Bad. Eret had begun to cough heartily behind him, crimson continuing to weakly flow over his mouth. Dream looked to Bad who seemed to be in a sort of daydream, blissfully ignorant to Dream’s violence. 

“They’re here.” 

Bad’s whispered words created a chasm of placidity as the room’s inhabitants collectively knitted their brows in confusion. A ghostly wind sent shivers down Dream’s spine as his skin ran cold, alerting him. Something wasn’t right. His instincts screamed danger.

“What? What is it?” Dream confronted, ignoring the blaring sirens in his mind to try concentrate on Bad and rationalise his impulses to run. “Who’s here?”

“They’re here.” Bad reiterated numbly, brown eyes going worryingly blurry as he raised his hand to point at the top right screen. The blonde’s eyes instantly rose to where Bad pointed, his brain slowing as he uselessly watched three armed men placing boxes beside the steel door of the compound. 

The men sprinted away from the door to reach the furthest end of the passage, crouching besides the beginning of the stairs. One of the men appeared to hold a controller of some sort while another had a broad smile etched smugly upon their face, the expression barely visible in the fuzziness of the screen’s live footage. 

That smile. So chillingly familiar. 

“FUCK.” Skeppy shouted after hurrying to Bad’s side. His normally dark, uncaring eyes now wide in horrific recognition at the controller in their hands. “BOMB—"

An impossible bang tore the air, slicing through the walls of the compound. The very walls around them seemed to shake and crack as their bones shook under the magnitude of the discord, fear scorching their whole beings. 

Petrified screams buzzed; the noise incomparable to the excruciating ringing in their ears.

The air itself seemed to freeze around him.

Suddenly Sapnap appeared at his side, pupils dilated as he tugged on Dream’s arm in silent desperation to follow him. He looked to his side, noticing Bad and Skeppy had disappeared. Dream was dragged after the shorter, legs stiff and weighty. He eventually reached the opened door of the security room, giving him a bleary sight of the ruins that the explosion left in its tremendous wake.

Dream was thrust into a state of scalding terror, unable to move or speak. Only watch. 

Crumbled walls, nightmarish screams and the splatters of scarlet paint– inhumane chaos. The noxious smoke choked them; uncontrollable coughs ravaging their raw throats as they tried to breath. 

“DREAM, SAPNAP,” Skeppy shouted as he materialised from the dry fog, his voice barely a whisper amongst the relentless hum in his ears. “YOU NEED TO GET OUT. FOLLOW.” When Dream only stared dumbly in response, Skeppy shoved him with his gun before roughly grabbing Sapnap’s forearm. “NOW!” 

The trio ran through the sooty clouds, the ringing in their ears dying gradually as the numbing noise morphed into gunfire, blasting unbearably as the heavy sound of bullets ripped terror into the souls of all alive to hear. 

Their feet stumbled as they moved in an indiscernible direction. The floor was decorated with rubble— 

Dream halted. 

His foot had become caught on something softer than the stiff rubble of exploded concrete. He tugged at the limb pathetically. 

Did he dare look down? 

His eyes moved without further thought, resting upon the figure lying limp on the floor. 

A person. A body.

A corpse. 

The gunfire continued. So did the screams. 

“DREAM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Skeppy shouted, “COME ON.” He pulled the blonde’s arm, forcing him to move past the ‘thing’. His mind wouldn’t let him ponder any longer that the ‘thing’ was actually an innocent, dead human being. 

The pandemonium was already too overwhelming for his shocked state, his mind becoming airy. Empty. Thoughtless.

Dream registered that they continued to move, Skeppy pausing the trio for a moment as he pulled out a key from his pocket and inserted it into a door, unlocking it. Dream was blank as he was forcibly shoved through the doorway he absentmindedly recognised as the stock room. 

They travelled deeper into the room, rushing past the shelves of miscellaneous supplies that ranged from food and water tanks to bullets and machine guns. The bullets were muffled by the thick walls of cement of the stock room, giving them fragile peace from the devastating disarray. 

At the end of the room appeared to be a few rungs of a ladder rutting out from the wall, slightly hidden by the shelves of supplies. The rungs led up to a hatch that was secured shut with a simple latch. 

Dream and Sapnap turned to Skeppy, confusion painted upon both their faces, like lost lambs attempting to escape the abattoir. 

“Go up there, it’ll take you to the streets.” Skeppy pointed to the hatch. Sapnap began to move immediately while Dream remained firmly in place, facing Skeppy with a frown. “Go on then. You haven’t got all day.” Skeppy jested sarcastically to the blonde. He motioned with his hand for Dream to follow Sapnap towards the ladder, the younger boy having already begun to climb the icy metal rungs and unlocked the hatch’s latch. 

“Why are you helping us? Why?” Dream repeated, clinging to the words like a life raft and refusing to move an inch as his eyes bore into Skeppy’s. 

“Because we’re screwed, obviously.” Skeppy renounced, voice tight. “This place has no hope now. Bad will go down with this place like a captain and his sinking ship and I— I can’t leave him.” Skeppy sighed defeatedly, adjusting his gun that had begun to slip from his shoulder. 

“But you, you can still save George. Save him from these people.”

Dream felt his heart wrench painfully, it was true. The compound would be impossible to defend, so many vulnerable, so many already dead. They were on a suicide mission. “Skeppy…”

“Please,” Skeppy inhaled deeply, closing his eyes momentarily before exhaling. “Please. Just go.”

Dream nodded, sharing a forlorn smile with the headstrong male. “I hope we meet again. Keep Bad safe, he’s too pure for this world.”

Skeppy chuckled miserably, moving his gun from his shoulder into his hands. “I will, don’t worry.” The black haired male then turned to begin an unrelenting sprint out of the stockroom and back into the cloud of smoke, disappearing from Dream’s view into the morbid unknown. 

Dream turned to the ladder as a few tears were blinked away from his verdant eyes. He climbed, concentrating his thoughts solely on moving up, quickly catching up to Sapnap who had paused above him. Dream peered up to where Sapnap was fiddling clumsily with the trapdoor that would presumably lead to their freedom, eventually managing to push open the rusted hinges that squeaked from their misuse. They continued climbing.

Sapnap lended a hand to the blonde, pulling him out from the trapdoor and into the cloudy twilight air. “Fuck.” Sapnap breathed as he turned to watch Dream crumple to the ground, following seconds later to sit beside his friend, laying his katana beside where Dream had discarded his shotgun. 

“Fuck indeed.” Dream echoed with a humourless chuckle, his laugh morphing into a ghastly cough that wracked his body. He smothered his face with his hands, dragging them down before he realised they had become covered in a thin layer of grey dust.

“I guess it’s time to find George.” He mumbled quietly, a deep frown on his face as he struggled to comprehend the events of a few minutes prior. 

Sapnap smiled weakly. “Yeah, but this time we’re taking him with us regardless. We’ll carry him, kicking and screaming if we have to.” Dream let out another chuckle, but this time laced with traces of genuine amusement as he imagined George being forcibly carried away in his arms.

Sapnap stood up, extending a hand to his taller friend with an encouraging smile. Green looked up to meet inky black, the pair exchanging looks of unyielding hope. 

“Alright, let’s get our idiot back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so... Happy new year everyone, let's hope this year is better than the last! 
> 
> This chapter, where do I begin? It was an interesting one to write as I really struggle in finding enough words to describe chaotic situations and try to avoid repeating adjectives etc. so the thesaurus was my best friend for this one (it's ironic since all my english teacher always called me verbose). I was going to make the chapter alot different than what it is but I decided I just want the dteam to reunite (properly) already!!
> 
> also, come scream at me on twitter: @gogmeist3r :)
> 
> ALSO did anyone watch George's latest stream? He looked so cute with that beanie and omydays it was so funny when he opened the drawer in the bedroom and just went O-O 
> 
> I'm down for any comments, reactions, constructive criticism and so on. Thank you all for the support so far, it really does aid in my improving my motivation <3!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50k words! WOOOOOOOOOah

They backtracked through the streets that had become their hellish home for the past few weeks with unbridled haste. Intermittently the moon rays would become shielded by the smoky clouds that drifted in the sky above. The concrete jungle was starkly bare of the zombies that normally haunted the cold tarmac of the city's roads and pavements, it was a double edged sword that Bad had ultimately pay for. The explosion had been so resounding that zombies had evidently been drawn to the shattering clamour of the bomb, emptying them from the streets. Subsequently, the pair's path to Techno's compound was clear of those sacrilegious creatures. Dream tried to ignore the suffocating feeling of criminality for Bad's dire position. 

He prayed they made it out alive.

Time was ticking, an hourglass of opportunity within their grasp. At least three of Techno’s men were away from their compound, and with any of their withering luck, they could pray one of them was Techno himself. 

The boys halted when they saw it, catching their breaths with eyes full of hatred trained upon the grandeur before them. 

There it was. The stone building, reminiscent of an old museum, Dream remembered thinking on his first sighting of the opulent architecture. Gorgeous and pristine, the image branded into his mind. Pillars of white and engraved stone. Defiant and capturing amongst the decaying scenery of mankind’s towering creations. 

An unholy palace that he despised. 

Even in the dim light of the dragging night, he spotted the very balcony on which the king had stood. Where Techno had stared emotionlessly, watching as the worst day of Dream’s life played out, like a forgettable scene in a melancholy play. 

It had felt like a century ago when Dream and Sapnap had been spying on Techno’s compound. The events of the recent past having blurred together in his mind from the chaos of the last few hours, forcing his memories into temporary disarray. He vaguely recalled their terrifying anticipation as to whether George lay dead within those cold walls, and his indescribable relief to see him alive by the entrance of the compound.

How, in that moment, the world had seemed impossibly loveable. 

He couldn’t wait to feel that eruption of hope again. Properly this time, and to hopefully share it with George. He couldn’t bear witness to any other outcome. 

He shook his head, forcing away the rosy imaginings to focus on the task in front of him. They stood on a precipice, they could either fall and die gruesomely, or, escape with their lives- and George. An idea quickly struck him, like a lightning bolt on the foggiest of days.

“Okay, Sapnap. I have a plan.” The aforementioned boy looked from the prestigious building to the blonde with an apprehensive look and a raised eyebrow of vague interest. 

“I’ll act as a decoy, knock on the front doors. Then, you ambush them from the—”

“Are you joking?” Sapnap interrupted with incredulity. “We didn’t come this far to just let them have you, the bastards will shoot on sight! Are you crazy?”

Dream held Sapnap’s dubious gaze with steel resolution. An odd grin built upon his face, a product of his excited adrenaline at the thought of finally reuniting with George properly. He replied confidently. 

“Don't worry, they won’t shoot me.” 

Sapnap scoffed, his gaze lying heavily upon his blonde friend. “Are you listening to yourself right now? Do you understand how stupid you're sounding? How do you know they won't shoot!”

Dream shrugged, grin remaining painted across his face. “I don’t, I just have a feeling.” Sapnap made an unintelligible noise of frustration in reply, raising a hand to massage his forehead as the beginnings of an echoing headache emerged.

“Come on now Sapnap. This is the only way, it’s is our best chance. I’m near certain that Techno was with those people who invaded Bad’s compound, meaning he’s not here! We can’t waste this opportunity by playing safe, we need to be fast—”

“You’re being too reckless! Think about it from MY perspective for once!” Sapnap shouted in a scornful outburst, his face a picture of distress. Dream tried to hush Sapnap but his attempt was met with a growl of irritation from the younger boy. 

The grin on Dream’s face died. 

“No! I won’t fucking quieten Dream— If George volunteered to do what you’re proposing to do, would you let him?” 

Dream was silent. 

“Exactly.” Sapnap declared with finality, his tone more hushed than before as he took control of his turbulent emotions. He let his hand fall from massaging his forehead to where it dangled loosely by his side. A wave of guilt washed over him coldly. He knew Dream could handle himself, he was just scared.

“...I'm sorry. I can’t live without you AND George. I can’t.” 

Verdant eyes were downcast with solemn understanding. He couldn't survive without George and Sapnap either. The black haired boy frowned, biting his lip. An aching silence was forged amongst the fluttering breeze of the dying night. It was near unbearable.

“Sorry.” Dream stuttered, moving to rest his back against the cracked concrete wall. “I didn’t think of it like that. I just…” 

“You’re an idiot, you know that right?” Sapnap chuckled, smiling wearily at the blonde. The tinge of humour in his voice piqued Dream's confused attention. “You’re rash yet calculating, self-sacrificing to those you love, brutal to those you don’t.” Sapnap paused, as if to ponder over his next few words.

”Overall, though, you’re just a fucking idiot.” 

Dream couldn’t help but wheeze at Sapnap’s crude assessment of his character. The watery smile grew upon Sapnap’s lips as he continued.

“…However, I still trust your judgement.” Dream raised his eyes to meet inky black, his expression unsure and tentative. “Despite your idiocy, I have followed you wherever you went. No matter where it brought us.” Sapnap muttered, moving to engulf Dream in a tight hug. 

Dream returned the heartfelt embrace, clinging to his long time companion like a lifeline. “I know I’ve made so many mistakes, coming to the city being one of the biggest...” Dream begun cautiously. 

“Calling that a mistake is the understatement of the century, let’s not forget that I was against coming here from the start.” Sapnap interjected sarcastically, words muffled from his face being pushed against the blonde’s shoulder. 

“I know... And when we get George back, I’ll have to make it up to him somehow.” Dream sighed, giving Sapnap a final squeeze before releasing the hug. “For now, we just have to focus on getting him out of there.” Dream said, turning to the compound of his nemesis with a look of distaste. 

“Well, you’re the leader of the Dream Team. What are my instructions, Captain?” Sapnap said, raising his hand to a mocking salute. Dream rolled his eyes with a smile at Sapnap’s antics, moving his shotgun into his hands from where it hung on his shoulder.

“We’re going inside and retrieving George ourselves.”

—

Only when the darkness subsided did he awaken from the slumber he'd mindlessly fallen into. The light blistered his eyes as he tried to adjust from the ghastly black to the garish white surroundings. He had to cover his eyes with his palms to shield his sensitive sight, having been deprived from the sense for so long that he was defenceless against the pure white that shined ardently.

“What?” He stammered, still unsure as to whether his regained ability to speak was part of his imagination or not. A slow clapping sound materialised, making him jump in surprise. He was unaccustomed to any sound that wasn’t his own frantic breath or the hellish groans around him that made his skin crawl.

“You can speak now? Fuckin’ finally.” A voice said— he recognised that voice— the light engulfing him was too blinding for him to gather enough energy to decipher the identity of the intruder. “Earth to George? Hello? Uncover your eyes.” The voice said impatiently. Out of fear, he did as he was asked, regretting it immediately as his eyes began to sting and water again. “There we go. I guess we left you in the dark for too long, huh?” 

George tried to focus on the voice to distract himself from the prickling discomfort in his eyes that was fading with a torturing reluctancy. 

“Me and you need to have a little talk, I bet you can predict what it’s about.” The voice remarked sardonically. George’s eyes, after some intense concentration, finally managed to make out the figure who had approached the iron bars. 

“Tommy?” George said in a hesitant whisper, blinking away the water that flooded his eyes from the throbbing pain. 

“Look, I want to trust you again, George. I really do.” The comical tone George remembered Tommy use had morphed to become cynical and sharp, a shadow of the jesting person his unreliable memory projected. Every word felt like a dagger that attempted to cut into his skin and unravel his ailing defences. “But in order to regain that trust, you can answer me this. Who shot Tubbo?” 

His untrained voice faltered. “I— I can’t remember.”

“Liar.”

The room’s air fell into a mute stalemate. 

Until the groans started.

Casually, George turned to the side where the sound seemed to come from, thinking the noises were simply a fabrication of his frightened mind. Instead, he was presented with a very real image of what he had feared of having seen in the dark. 

A conjuring of the darkest corners of his mind. 

Startled, he jumped back in horror, pushing himself up against the furthest wall, like a cornered animal. His vision was blurry edged, but even he could see the monstrous zombie that peered at him from behind a set of iron bars, reaching for him with its decomposing hand. George felt a sickness build in his throat.

Tommy let out a childish cackle, grinning at George’s sudden shock. “You only just noticed it? You’re joking! So unobservant!” He ridiculed, continuing to laugh. 

George grimaced tightly, trying to calm his heaving chest and rapid breaths, terror and adrenaline still coursing through his body.

Eventually the room settled back into the icy hush, only this time accentuated by the more noticeable groans of the zombie that strained in the cell beside him. This time, he didn’t dare to look around the room any further, wanting to remain blissfully ignorant to just how many zombies he had shared the room with through the darkness.

George looked down to his clenched palms that rested in his lap. He used the silence to work on sharpening his vision, his eyes struggling to make out the details of the torn skin of his right hand. The palpitating pain made itself known as his fingers dug into the ruined scar tissue. It was a shame; he really believed the bite would successfully scar this time and the pain would end. 

He should’ve known by now, the pain never ends.

He sighed despondently, momentarily forgetting Tommy’s existence before an expectant cough made him raise his head up in confusion. 

“If you’re not going to tell me then I guess I’ll let you have more time to think alone.” Tommy said, moving to get up with feigned regret painted on his youthful face. 

Panic raced through George’s soul, terror overwhelming his senses. He couldn’t go back to the darkness, not again. 

“No, no—please!” George’s desperate cry ripped his raw throat, making him cringe from the sparks of soreness. Tommy paused his movements and turned to George wordlessly. “I’ll tell you, just don’t leave me here. Don’t leave me in the dark again. Please.” George begged, his anxiety making him numb to the blaring pain in his right hand as he clutched his fists even tighter. 

Tommy smiled. “Sounds like a fair trade to me—” 

A resounding clang of metal on metal made Tommy turn in alarm to the door at the top of the staircase on the other side of the room. A clatter of indiscernible voices and footsteps outside were near inaudible through the thick metal. The door finally opened with a heavy click; the arrival hidden to George’s diminished sight. 

“Punz? What the fuck are you doing?”

“Tommy— I’m sorry, I thought there was only one of them—”

“Shit.” Tommy uttered, his pupils narrowed and seeming to flee from the expanding whites of his eyes. 

George looked between the doorway and the frenzied Tommy in confusion. A few dragging moments later, Punz finally shuffled into the room. He was handcuffed and being pushed by the nuzzle of a gun that was pressed against the small of his back. 

More specifically, a shotgun. 

“George?”

His breath was stolen from his lungs, the world dimming around the boy standing before him. 

There he was, like a figment of his most colourful dreams. An oasis in the most scorching of deserts. His golden hair, freckled cheeks, evergreen orbs that appeared shining champagne through his bronzed eyes. 

This wasn’t real. He was hallucinating. 

Another dream that would end with him waking to the nightmarish reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I don't know how to feel about this chapter, i hate it yet am kind of happy with it at the same time. I hope you lot can enjoy it, I somehow wrote it in one sitting. We're about 3/4 through the story at this point (I think).
> 
> Next chapter is going to be FUN!!! 
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated, thank you all for saying the kindest things ever <3 they really make my day :,)


	19. Chapter 19

Punz began to stutter, floundering his words. “Tommy—"

Dream silenced the blonde with a threatening glare, pushing him forward, down the staircase with the motivating nuzzle of the shotgun pressed up against him. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs he pushed Punz to the side, moving towards the wide, blue eyes of Tommy. A pair of handcuffs were held out in his hands.

“Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be now, okay?”

Tommy sputtered, his face scrunched with intense loathing. “When Techno gets back—” Green eyes hardened. 

“Just shut up and turn ‘round.” He stated.

Tommy did as was asked with unusual silent resignation. The kid appeared to act like the child he was sometimes, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand the dire situation he found himself in. After securing the metal constraints on Tommy’s wrists he rotated to face the perturbed face of Punz.

“Give me the keys.” Dream demanded coldly. “Now.”

Punz tried to move his hands into his pocket, the handcuffs restricting his movements as the brutal iron cut into his wrists. “They’re in my pocket, I can’t reach them.” He looked back up to Dream guiltily. 

The green eyed blonde growled, pushing to reach his hand into Punz’s pocket and tugging out the set of keys that hung on a thin metal ring. 

“Which one is it.”

“The smallest one.” 

Forcing himself past Punz and dropping his gun to lay within arm’s reach, he shoved the key into the cells lock. With a reasonable push, the iron bars of the cell were nudged open, metal scraping on tile. 

It revealed George’s ghostly expression of shock.

For a moment his world stopped turning. Calloused hands quaked in anticipation, taking slow, microscopic steps towards him. His previous worries and anxieties were demolished with one look. Thoughts totally possessed with the incapacitating image before him. There he was. 

George. 

Dream took advantage of the tranquil moment to scan his eyes over the boy. Darkened eyes, sickly porcelain skin and cheekbones that stood out more starkly upon his face than how he remembered. His excited emotions withered slightly at the sight.

He looked so frightfully delicate. 

Like a snowflake. Fragile, yet so very beautiful.

“George?” Dream repeated with a soft tentativeness, moving forward with a calming, outstretched hand. “George? Please, answer me.” Watery emerald gazed into burnt brown.

George opened his mouth uselessly, trying to raise himself to stand but faltering and resigning himself to be slumped on the floor. 

Dream’s heart strained. 

What had they done to him?

He moved suddenly forwards, skidding to the floor beside George’s skinny body. Reaching with uncertainty, he looked for George to give him any indication of consent to his approach. The blonde was still unsure whether George still reserved the hatred for him after their previous reunion. With his fingers on George’s pale cheek, he turned his head so he could peer closer into the rich abyss of russet he loved so dearly. 

There was no bitterness in those eyes, only an expression of disbelief that Dream mirrored in his own, brilliant smile.

“I missed you so much.” Dream gasped out, his words barely above a whisper. He pulled George into a careful embrace that radiated comfort and reassurance. Dream closed his eyes for a moment, crystal water droplets having begun to line his blurring vision. For once he didn’t bother trying to choke back the tears, letting the wispy droplets fall freely. 

George was in his arms. Safe. It was all he could’ve asked for. The brutal world around them escaped their minds for the first time in years, the pair totally engrossed in the consolation.

A wracking sob was emitted from the smaller body in his arms, making him tighten his hold protectively and mumble a mantra of solace. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. I promise. It’s okay.” George’s figure shook under Dream, appearing to be equally useless in resisting the devastating emotions that engulfed him. 

“I’m sorry—” 

The raspy, smothered words collided with Dream’s thoughts, sending his mind spiralling in confusion. 

“Why are you apologising?” Faintly loosening the clutch of his arms, he pulled back to look at the trembling brown-haired boy. Dark eyes stared blankly down at his hands that had been trapped against Dream’s chest. 

Then he spotted what George was staring at. 

Blackened marks and stains of dried scarlet marred the skin of his right hand. Ridges of ripped purple scar tissue lined the bite. A blighted sight. Marks of teeth were still visible, even after so long, a pattern of sharp dents in the abused skin.

Tragic understanding flooded him.

“George, please, don’t say that.” Dream pleaded, further unwrapping his arms from around George to draw the smaller boy’s hands into his own. The bite was hidden from sight, enveloped in Dream’s heated hands. In that moment his mind faltered as he noticed just how cold George’s skin was. “—None of this was ever your fault. None of it."

George looked up from his covered hands, finally. His expression was filled with self-incrimination. 

A groan erupted from the left of him, making Dream jolt as his head abruptly turned to the side. 

Startled green eyes found a zombie outstretched towards them, bloodied arms reaching towards the pair with unfailing, mindless determination. The creature’s bludgeoned mouth gaped, the soft moans dribbling from the blackened teeth of death. 

“Fucking hell— why were you put in here with these things— never mind, it doesn’t matter now.” Dream turned back around, finding George purposefully staring at the opposite wall to the satanic creature, his eyes tinted with glacial fright. “We’re getting you out of here. Do you think you can walk?” 

To gain George’s distant attention, the blonde squeezed his shoulders gently. George, at last, looked back up to Dream, his head tilted innocently. The image was instantly branded on the plains of his infatuated brain. 

For a fleeting moment, George had held the expression Dream remembered him wear all those weeks ago at the barn. When they had watched the sunrise together in that time of devastating peace. He couldn’t wait to share more of those moments with George, this time with a reaffirmed sense of appreciation.

Now wasn’t the time to be panicking over his affections. He’d save that for another day— when George was at least able to talk and walk without strain. 

Ignoring his heart’s elated song, Dream repeated the question again, exuding patience and giving him an encouraging smile to squander any of George’s hesitance. “Do you think you can walk?” 

Immediately, George tried to stand. 

Emphasis on tried. 

His legs wobbled under his weight, biting his lip as he tried to concentrate on steadying his limbs. After a minute or so of fruitless trying, he gave up, letting his legs sag to the hard tile floor.

“…I don’t— think so.” George muttered with humorous exhaustion.

Dream hummed in thought, looking from the door at the top of the staircase to where George sat. “Okay, hold on.” 

Standing up, moved over to where the shotgun he’d discarded earlier lay. Haphazardly, Dream slung the strap of it over his shoulder. He then leaned down, hooking one arm under George’s legs and the other supporting his back— like a groom carrying his bride.

“What?—" The brunette boy choked, his hands scabbling to reach around Dream’s neck to gain a sense of security within his hold. If he was more aware of his turbulent emotions, he would’ve felt the gushing warmth that wept into his heart. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” Dream smiled at the boy in his arms, trying to will away the dusting of red on his cheeks. He should not be blushing right now, it should be saved for later. When they weren’t surrounded by an audience of zombies and psychos. 

The blonde set on, out of the small square of iron bars and brushing past the frozen figures of Tommy and Punz who’s icy gazes followed the pair up the stairs. Before exiting, Dream threw the handcuffed pair a taunting smile of accomplishment, not taking the time to see their reaction as he slammed the door shut behind him. They were lucky Dream had been so distracted by his elation of finding George breathing. In any other circumstances, he would’ve definitely found time to unlock the other cages in the room. 

Perhaps some zombie bites would’ve taught them the lesson not to mess with him. 

Pushing the psychos away into the furthest edges of his mind, Dream focused on the boy he loved who sat in his arms. 

Dream’s brain short-circuited at the mythical reality of the situation. 

“You alright, George?” Dream said, unable to stop joy from tinting his tender tone.

George looked up to Dream, his fingers having tangled themselves unconsciously to clutch Dream’s shirt. 

“Yeah, I’m okay.” His words was curt, tongue stumbling over the syllables. But the soothed look that was cast upon George’s face reassured Dream in respite of his haggard appearance.

“Good.” 

Moving past the addictive, fogging thoughts of fondness, he tracked his way back to the entrance of the elaborate building. Turning corner after endless corner. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as his eyes finally laid upon the imposing door of the main entrance. Beside the exit stood Sapnap, having stood guard as Dream had forced Punz to show him George’s location in the depths of the compound. The clicking noise of Dream’s footsteps made Sapnap’s head whip around in alarm. 

They shared a look of unbridled joy. 

“Dream— George!—” The black-haired boy sprinted to the pair with enraptured speed. 

Dream smoothly lowered George out of his arms, offering him his arm so he’d be able to stand with support. Gratefully, George grasped Dream’s arm, holding it tightly like a life raft. 

Green eyes searched burnt honey to find any sign of unease. 

The last time they had spoken George had been obviously pained at their appearance, something that had agonizingly torn Dream’s heart in two. Even if his pain stemmed from manipulative lies. The memory remained hauntingly stark in his mind, having thrown his life into a disorientating maelstrom.

All he continued to see within George’s eyes were the weary sparks of relief that lay under a heavy blanket of fatigue. Like flecks of gold in those umber heaths.

He felt the encouraging hand of Sapnap appear on his back.

“Holy shit— We did it Dream.” 

Dream turned to Sapnap, seeing the boy’s tearful eyes and chuckling softly. He pulled the trio into the tightest of hugs, consciously careful as to not put too much pressure on George’s frail figure.

“Yeah, we did it.” The blonde mumbled in confirmation, the words meant for both Sapnap and himself. He was still in a state of disbelief that this, in fact, wasn’t a dream. 

As they broke the hug, Dream pulled George in front of him, holding him up by his shoulders. 

“Is it okay if I carry you on my back? It’ll make it easier to move faster, and I want to get as far away from here as possible.” The brown-haired boy blinked dumbly before nodding gradually. It seemed his voice was unreliable, the boy preferring to communicate through movements rather than words. Dream frowned internally, not wanting to burden George with any of his worry.

“Sapnap, can you help him?” 

“Yes sir.” Sapnap took the blonde’s shotgun, putting it on his shoulder alongside his katana. He then guided George onto Dream’s back, making sure he had a secure hold around Dream’s neck. “And we’re good to go!” 

They exited Techno’s compound and trailed through the streets with a level of renewed vigour they hadn’t felt in what felt like years. 

The blonde and black-haired boy had already decided their course of action upon reuniting with George. Ultimately, they had chosen to head back south, down to the borders of Florida. It would give them a more recuperative warmth than the past approaching artic Winter that would engulf New York. There, in Florida, they would reweld the broken ties of stability that they had been vacant of for so long.

It would be a long, arduous journey on foot but they had ambition on their side and hope as their motivator. Everything was coming together, after so many endless days of disarray and torment. 

Dream beamed with an incandescent glow.

The Dream Team was back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO... How do we feel about this chapter huh? :3
> 
> It felt so weird to be writing so much 'fluffy' stuff after all the angst of the previous chapters- angst is so much easier to write in my opinion so I hope this chapter wasn't too rough.
> 
> Can I also add that all your lovely comments have made it possible for this story to be updated with such a fast pace, I am genuinely so motivated to finish this story it's unreal :D Thank you all so much, I couldn't ever express how appreciative I am of every comment <3 
> 
> Ily all and hope you all have a great day/ night!


	20. Chapter 20

“Dream?”

The late signs of the evening’s arrival was painted across the dying sky, an orange explosion of warmth. Despite the rising of the lustre sun, the world remained cast in a chill that warned of the advancing winter. 

“Yeah, George?” Dream replied delicately, sharing a concerned look with Sapnap. George hadn’t spoken much since their escape, and when he did, his voice was a choked whisper.

Trudging through the nipping air, the trio continued deeper into the suburbs of the city. They moved at as fast a pace they could travel, desperate to escape the vision of the dilapidated skyscrapers. With George on Dream’s back and all three of them weary from many sleepless nights and empty stomachs, the cold air was a ruthless challenge to their struggling steps.

“Do you— can we stop?” 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, I just think we should rest.”

Sapnap and Dream shared yet another look, this time one of agreement. They were exhausted. It was an unfortunate, unavoidable fact that not even their wish to escape the sights of the city could quash. 

“Okay, yeah, we can do that if you need.” Dream reassured, lowering George from his back and helping him begin to move towards the nearest house. A look of worry remained on Dream’s face as he held onto George’s arm to prevent him from falling. The smaller boy’s feet were graceless and weak, stumbling along the pavement and up towards the house’s entrance. George’s face was contorted into a look of useless concentration. 

Sapnap jogged in front of the pair, swiftly pushing open the door with one hand. He held his Dream’s shotgun with his other, empty, hand. Dream noticed sourly that the door had been left unlocked and partially open, meaning any wandering zombie could’ve come in for one unlucky reason or another. Dream held George unconsciously tighter.

“Wait here, I’ll check for those fuckers.” The youngest instructed, giving the blonde his shotgun back with a simple nod. He swiftly adjusted the white bandana that sat around his head, keeping his overgrown, dark locks from obscuring his sight. After moving his katana from where it hung upon his shoulder into a tight, two handed grip, Sapnap went off into the depths of the house. An adrenalised smirk sat on his lips as he disappeared from the pair’s view.

From what Dream could see from the entrance, the house was deserted. Alike the one they had stayed in prior to entering the city all those weeks ago, it was also vacant of anything useful. Only pieces of large furniture remained, such as the sofa and dining room table. The air was permeated with an uncomfortably thick layer of silvery dust that made his nose itch as the particles were reflected in the fading light. 

As they waited for Sapnap’s all clear, George rested his head upon Dream’s shoulder for support. His breath was hot against the blonde’s skin, setting Dream’s nerves alight. 

“We’ll need to find you a new weapon,” Dream rambled uselessly. He was grasping for a distraction from George’s warmth, the latter huffing humorously below him in response. 

“I don’t think I’ll be any use with a weapon right now,” George pointed out, his body noticeably tensing against Dream’s. The blonde just nodded, adjusting his firm yet comforting hold on George as they waited.

Moments later, Sapnap appeared, an encouraged look upon his face.

“Okay, downstairs is clear. Let me check upstairs quick.” Sapnap said as he rapidly moved past the pair, skipping the steps two at a time as he reached the second floor. 

Less than a minute passed before a muted shout of ‘clear!’ could be heard through the thin walls of the house, prompting Dream to take a deep breath of relief. Sapnap then appeared at the top of the stairs, a menial smile of relief on his face that was mirrored on the blonde’s lips. 

“Thank God, I don’t have the energy to deal with zombies today.” Dream mumbled inaudibly as he began to lower himself, allowing George to weakly jump onto his back. Sapnap raced down the steps to take Dream’s shotgun for him as George was secured into his clasp.

“We can set up shop in the master bedroom, looks clean enough. There’s a duvet and even a few pillows, basically fit for a king.” The black-haired boy encouraged, hanging the shotgun around George as Dream began to move forwards.

Dream hummed with watered excitement, focusing his whole attention on hobbling up the creaking stairs. In his sapped state, every step was weighted with stone. Upon reaching the landing, Dream glanced down to where Sapnap remained at the bottom of the stairs. “You coming up?” He asked as he let go of his clutch on George, letting the latter stand on his own again.

“I was thinking… We have nothing right now, and we both know we can’t keep moving like this with no supplies, especially not with George.” From the corner of his eyes, Dream could see George look away guiltily. “He’s starved, look at him— I think I should go find some food for us.”

The blonde scrunched his mouth to the side, reluctance evident in the way his eyes avoided Sapnap’s. He didn’t want to let him go alone, especially since the trio had only just become whole, but Sapnap was right. George had been starkly deprived of food for God knows how long, his bones having become scarily obvious from under his skin. They needed to care for him; and to be able to care for him they would need supplies.

“Okay— just be extra careful.” 

“I will, don’t worry.” Sapnap assured confidently despite Dream’s grimace. And with that, Sapnap was once again gone from sight, the fading sounds of footsteps on tarmac the only trace of him left behind.

Alone, George moved into the stillness of the master bedroom with Dream close behind, his arms ready to catch George if his steps faltered. As Sapnap had promised, the room was fit for a king— or rather a frugal, apocalyptic king. The room was a picture of the past; a scene frozen in time. The bed was made, cushions the colour of royal purple and the duvet a light lilac. The cream curtains were slightly parted, allowing slivers of the sun’s last gasp to shine onto the room’s wallpapered walls that were patterned in fleur-de-lis’. 

George immediately sat down upon reaching the edge of the bed. His legs ached tightly from such strenuous use after not being used properly for so long. Dream remained standing, placing his shotgun beside George.

A shiver ran through George’s bones, the movement noticed by the doting, evergreen eyes immediately. “You’re cold?” In a swift, singular movement, Dream tugged his hoodie off from over his head. With an encouraging smile he presented it for George to take. “Here, wear this.”

George immediately dismissed Dream’s offering. “I don’t need—” 

“Don’t be stubborn, just take it. For me?” When the doubtful pout didn’t disappear from George’s face, Dream moved the hoodie closer to him. “Please, it’ll give me peace of mind.”

Wordlessly, George took the hoodie. The soft material felt like a cloud between his bony fingers that gripped tightly around the fabric. He looked up to Dream with uncertainty edging his burnt umber eyes.

“George, come on, don’t look at me like that. This is the least I could do.” The blonde heartened affectionately. He fought to camouflage the abyss of adoration that swelled in his heart; George wasn’t mentally stable enough for that yet. He would have to wait to show its true extent. “I’d do anything for you, Georgie.”

The words seemed to strike George like a bullet aimed straight for his exposed, crystallised heart. A bottomless pit of repressed emotions was opened from under him, sending him falling into the depths of his trauma. The trembling was the first warning to the oncoming flash flood. 

And then the tears began to pour, like trickling rain on a sunny day. Beautifully solemn. 

“George?” Panic was stark in Dream’s voice. Warm, calloused hands swiftly moved to hold scrawny shoulders in an attempt to make the brunette look up from his down casted stare. “What’s wrong? George, please?”

George looked up to Dream who had become frantic with worry, forlorn russet finally meeting fraught green. Dream’s mind was rendered speechless as he foraged George’s eyes for the epicentre of the sudden sorrow.

“I—I don’t know.” George’s words were punctuated with the quiet, choked back sobs of sadness that wracked his entire being. “I guess I was alone for what felt like so long, and I’m so tired—” 

George’s shoulders slumped suddenly into Dream’s hands, sagging pitifully. His hands were clenched, ripped fingernails digging into the bloodied, vulnerable skin of the bite. 

“George, hey. Don’t do that. You’re hurting yourself.” Dream asserted gently, eyebrows knitting together as his hands moved to uncurl George’s stiff fingers. “Just put on this.” Carefully, Dream helped slide the hoodie onto George’s smaller frame, over his head and aiding the frail boy to slide his arms into the hoodie sleeves. 

“Look, that’s better, isn’t it? And, stopping the cold isn’t it’s only benefit!” The blonde offered a small, cheery grin to George’s numbed expression. “When you try dig your fingers into the bite wound—” Dream took George’s right hand in both his palms, demonstrating how the sleeve engulfed his whole hand, with only the fingers managing to peek out. “—You won’t be able to harm the scars from forming anymore.”

George flexed his fingers, proving Dream’s words to be true. The soft fabric of Dream’s hoodie provided a, albeit thin, barrier between his nails and the abused skin of his right hand’s palm. 

Dream moved his hands up to George’s face, wiping away the tear tracks that ran down his cheeks with a swipe of his tanned thumbs. “Okay, so we’ve fixed the cold problem. Why don’t you sleep? I’ll wake you when Sapnap gets back.”

Slowly, George began to nod. A weaker, matching smile had worked its way onto his lips. “Yeah, okay.” He said mutely. Dream then promptly moved off of the bed covers, allowing George to lift up the duvet and slip into the bed’s airy warmth. 

Picking up his shotgun from where it lay on the bed, Dream began to move away from George, intending to give him some peace. “I’ll be in the next room.” He warned quietly.

Dream didn’t want to leave, rather he was desperate to spend every waking second with George. After being violently robbed of his presence for so long, he yearned to make up for lost time. But he knew George wasn’t the same person as before, so he would have to wait. Wait to find George’s renewed boundaries, climb back up those towering walls as he had done all those years ago. “Call me if you need anything—” 

A hand reached out; it froze him in place. 

The grip was weak, easy to escape. If it had been anyone else’s grip Dream would’ve laughed at its infirmity.

Turning around, he met an expression of defencelessness. An expression the ‘old George’ would’ve scoffed at. An expression that Dream had seen staring back at him from the reflection of Sapnap’s inky depths when they had lost George. 

“Stay?” 

The word was uttered almost sheepishly, laced with an odd kind of criminality as George momentarily tightened his grip on Dream’s arm, punctuating his plea.

Dream answered in a heartbeat.

“Of course.”

The vulnerability lessened as George wilted, looking away from him and letting his hand fall limply from Dream’s wrist. The blonde moved around to the other side of the bed, sliding himself under the duvet just as George had. He kept his shotgun in his grip, laying it atop the duvet cover. Just in case.

“You okay?” He asked tentatively, green eyes watching George for any inkling of uncertainty.

“Yeah.” 

Dream blinked dumbly, his brain overtaken with the wish to pull George’s body into his and simply hold him tight.

George was traumatised, starved and bruised. He severely doubted George would share the extent of what happened to him within those stone walls anytime soon. George had never been one of those people who shared their emotions freely like Dream was. But, until George revealed what happened, Dream would try to help in any way he could.

So, contrary to George’s reply; he was not, in fact, okay. It would be a long time until George would be okay, Dream knew that. But he would wait a lifetime if that’s how long it would take. 

The russet haired boy’s eyes were already closed, the rising of the duvet over his body having become regular and relaxed. 

He felt at peace with George’s presence next to him, having missed it so dreadfully for so long. The fond look on his face was unavoidable. 

Dream daydreamed innocently for what felt like an hour, George remaining serenely asleep with a small smile on his angelic face. 

But then the tainting nightmares came.

It began when George started to mumble nonsensically, prompting Dream to turn away from checking over his gun. He peered over at the sleeping boy with endeared intrigue.

The indiscernible words grew to be desperate, soon escalating to become violent shouts, shrill and panicked. Startled, Dream could only watch in shock as George started kicking. It was as if he was trying to escape a strait jacket of duvet covers. 

Dream was cemented in place, his sage depths dilated in fright. His brain raced uselessly, urging his body to take action. George needed to stop, his shouts could draw unwanted attention— but the harrowing shrieks struck Dream’s limbs numb, unable to move. 

George’s screaming quietened momentarily. Dream blinked, trying to force his thoughts and body into coherency. “George?” Dream finally choked out. The aforementioned boy’s movements had appeared to still, allowing Dream to cautiously reach out to try wake him. 

His arm was instantly retracted when the shouts resumed, louder and more wretched than before. 

“Fuck! George please!” Dream breathed raggedly as he tried to grab George’s flailing arms, pushing them down onto the mattress with a ghastly expression.

When George’s eyes finally opened, he appeared like a ghost. His russet gaze was transparent, peering straight through Dream until his eyes fluttered open and shut again, regaining consciousness as their vision finally met.

“Dream?” George whispered; his voice was pained from the screams that ravaged his throat raw. 

Dream was in shocked exhaustion, collapsing into the smaller boy’s arms with a deep sigh. A few seconds of silence passed as George grappled to ground himself in his surroundings, safe from the violent terror of his unconsciousness. 

“…I had a nightmare, didn’t I.” 

With his eyes closed, Dream nodded into George’s shoulder.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, not your fault. It just scared me.” He murmured, releasing George from his hold to lock eyes. Having noticed a small scratch that had begun to blossom red, Dream raised a hand to George’s cheek with a worried frown. He wiped away the dash of blood before letting his hand fall back into his lap. Dream sighed for the umpteenth time. “You should try go back to sleep.” 

As if on cue, George yawned. “Wake me up when you want to sleep, yeah?”

“Yeah, I will.” Dream lied, smiling tenderly as George relaxed back under the covers. 

Once George’s breathing had seemed to even out, Dream reached out gingerly. His tanned hands met russet locks, stroking them with a lulled steadiness. The strands were long but not as long as they should’ve been – he must’ve had it cut during the time they were separated. 

Green eyes drifted back to George’s face, feeling a wave of familiar heartache flood him.

“I missed you.” He whispered.

—

George was still sound asleep when Sapnap returned. The sky was dark, the bedroom lit up with the plain luminesce of a full moon.

“Hey, George is asleep.” Dream mumbled quietly, not bothering to move his gaze from where George’s calmed frame lay beside him. 

“Hi.” Sapnap replied, dropping his katana to rest against the wall. He paused by the doorway, leaning on the cracked wood frame. Inky black eyes were hesitant, fingers fumbling with a tattered plastic bag as he surveyed the scene. “...Everything good?”

Dream’s eyes languorously moved from George to Sapnap, exhaustion weighing down upon his body as he exhaled jaggedly. “Yeah— well not really— but it’s fine for now.” He ended the sentence with an unstable grin that crumbled under Sapnap’s coarse expression. 

“What happened?”

“I’ll tell you about it later,” the blonde dismissed, not bothering to be discreet in his attempt to change the topic of conversation. “So, what did you find?”

Sapnap raised his eyebrows but didn’t try to question any further. Moving towards the bed, the floorboards creaked under his step. He dumped the plastic bag’s contents onto the bed. “Not much, but it’s something.”

He wasn’t lying when he had said it wasn’t ‘much’. Dream was presented with two cans of soup and a sizeable bag of beef jerky – scraps probably found in the dark recesses of a kitchen cupboard. Alongside the cans of soup and beef jerky was a bag of popcorn kernels. He quirked an eyebrow in confusion as he lifted up the bag.

“I remember my dad making them for me when I was a kid, back in Texas.” Sapnap said, answering Dream’s wordless confusion. “Though we did have a camping stove back then.” Dream chuckled, shaking his head softly as he picked up a can of soup to examine it half-heartedly.

“We’ll eat when George wakes up. I don’t feel like sleeping yet— you can rest if you want.” Dream offered, glancing at George to check on his undisturbed state.

“Nah, I’ll stay up.” He moved to sit cross legged on the bed in front of Dream, picking up the discarded bag of kernels and reading the small text on the back. Dream blinked at the younger boy, consciously taking a breath to relax himself as he leant back on the bed’s headboard. 

A comfortable silence developed as they bathed in their shared company. Dream’s eyes wandered towards the slither of the full moon that was visible from between the folds of curtain fabric. It was tranquil, an almost foreign peace that Dream had felt void of for so long. 

“I think things are going to get better from now on.” The words fell from nowhere, tumbling clumsily from his lips. Sapnap looked up in quiet surprise, the corners of his mouth becoming upturned in understanding. 

“Yeah, me too.” Sapnap’s eyes moved to follow Dream’s towards the glimpse of moonlight. The innocent, white glow reflected pristinely in his coal iris’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this 'chill' chapter, for now the story focus is the journey of healing.
> 
> Comments are GREATLY appreciated, next chapter will come out much sooner I promise :) <3  
> I hope you are all doing good and have a great day/ night :D!
> 
> I'm sorry it's taken so long- life happened. I found this chapter so hard to write, especially after having taken a few weeks off of writing. If you spot any mistakes please tell me, I edited this when I was half asleep as I just wanted to get this chapter out as I felt bad for leaving for a more than a month. I hope my writing hasn't deteriorated too much after having such a long break! 
> 
> Life update: I'm not really doing better mentally (but that's okay!), I bought a new chair (my old one broke), OH AND I received an offer from my dream uni so that's epic wooooo
> 
> George update: I am so unbelievable excited for his cooking stream... ALSO GEORGE LORE pleasseeeeeeeee :,(
> 
> \----
> 
> my twitter (if you care lol) : @GOGMEIST3R


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